Lectures On The Bhagavad Gita

LECTURES

ON

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE GITA

by

D. S. SARMA, M.A.,

Principal, Government Arts College, Rajahmundry

PUBLISHED BY
N. SUBBA RAU PANTULU.

President of the Hindu Samaj, Rajahmundry.

PRINTED at

THE MADRAS LAW JOURNAL PRESS^
MYLAPORE, MADRAS.

THE PUBLISHER'S NOTE

At the request of the Hindu Samaj, Rajah-
mundry, Mr. D. S. Sarma, m.a., Principal of
the Govemnfent Arts College, Rajahmundry,
kindly delivered in 1935 and 1936 a course of six
lectures on the Bhagavad Gita. We are grate-
ful to him for giving us permission to publish
these lectures and along with them to reprint his
English translation of the Gita. We need hardly
say that the^ Gita is rightly termed the Gospel
of Humanity and the best guide to conduct,
showing ' the way to peace and happiness in this
life and hereafter, and that, therefore, it is the
duty of every one to study it and be profited by
its teachings.

Our thanks are due to Sir S. Radhakrishnan,
Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and
Ethics, Oxford University, for kindly writing the
Foreword and to the editor of the ** Kalyana
Kalpataru" for giving us permission to reprint
the views on the Gita of Mahatma Gandhi,
Lokamanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Pandit
Madan Mohan Malaviya.

N. SUBBA RAU,

1—2—1937 I President,

Rajahmundey. j The Hindu Samaj.

CONTENTS

Foreword by ^ir S. Radhakrishnan . . vii

Lecture I. How to read the Gita . . 1

Lecture IL The Content and the Form of

the Gita . . 17

Lecture III. The Gita and Spiritual Life. . 29

Lecture IV. The Gita and Contemporary

Thought . . 42

Lecture V. The Gita and Svadharma . . 54

Lecture VI. The Gita and Progress . , 67

Appendix : —

L Mahatma Gandhi on the Gita . . 89

II. Lokamanya B. G. Tilak on the Gita . . 93

III. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya on the

Gita . . . . 95

The English Translation of the Gita . . 97

FOREWORD

BY

Sir S. Radhakrishnan

My friend, Professor D. S. Sarma, who is
already well known as a serious-minded and
scholarly expositor of the Bhagavad Gita, has
again puf us under obligation to him by his
excellent “Lectures on the Gita.”

There are many to-day who think that reli-
gion is not necessary, except for those who
happen to relish it. If we are kind and tole-
rant, good-tempered and unselfish, that is
enough. Love and brotherhood are the highest
religion. But morality requires a stronger
basis than mere sentiment. Mere amiability
and goodwill cannot save the individual or the
world. The Bhagavad Gita afl&rms that reli-
gion is essential and it alone can make human
life sweet and pure.

There are different ways in which the book
can be aiiproached. It may be used as a San-
skrit text for literary, historical or antiquarian
research. For the Hindu, however, it is a

VIU

guide to the art of living, a Yoga-Sastra, pro-
viding him with the source and standard of all
action.

The two tests of the value of any religious
Scripture are whether it helps man to find him-
self and attain peace and whether it contri-
butes to social harmony. It seems to me that
the religion of the Gita satisfies these two
tests, the spiritual and the social.

(1) Any religion which demands from its
adherents unthinking faith has no chance with
the scientifically trained men of Pur gene-
ration, A full life is also a rational oile. The
Gita adopts an attitude of scientific realism or
submission to fact. We might dispute doc-
trines, but cannot deny facts. The Gita
takes its stand on the reality of spiritual ex-
perience, of which God is the factual content,
even as the physical world is the factual con-
tent of sense-knowledge. It is possible for the
individual to become directly aware of the
presence of the Divine.

The God of the Gita is not a remote, tran-
scendental mystery, but the lord and giver of
life, entering into the world of events and
persons, operating at various levels, but most
ifreely in the world of souls. He helps the
world to move up at every plane, in every
person and at every point, to reach towards

IX

greater perfection, to get into conformity with
the purpose of the world. He is not only our
deepest reality, but our friend and guide, in-
spiring and moulding every detail of our life,,
if we so desire. He does not want to do any-
thing against our will. He demands our co-
operation. The flute of Krishna is a symbol
for the voice of the Unutterable, which may
not speak in words, and which yet attracts
human hearts. God woos our soul entreating,
though He might have conamanded — “Yaihe-
cchasi tatjjia kuru.” (=Do as you please).

By f ree will we have to re-integrate our
nature, reconcile reason and will, the flesh and
the affections, with the spirit in us. In our
ordinary life we are divided within ourselves.
Our unrest is a reflection of our inner division.
The battle has to be fought in the hearts of
men, w^ho are inclined to be lost in the pursuit
of material ends and live on the surface of life,
thinking that we belong there and must remain
there. We are like pieces of wood drifting
down a stream, never dipping much below the
surface, except when a wave splashes over us.
In these exceptional occasions, we feel that
there is something more in us than is apparent
in our ordinary consciousness, a finer spiri-
tual presence. It is the task of man to recognise
this presence lying hidden behind the mask of

his self-consciotis personality. To find that
deeper being, to function consciously in the
world of truth in which it dwells, to let it in-
spire our daily life and transfigure our perso-
nality, is the purpose of human living.

(2) Philosophers are often criticised as un-
practical. They are said to dwell apart in
serene temples of abstract thought, to know
little and care less about what happens
to men and women in the world . As
long ap they can define the Absolute,
they do not mind what happen* to the
Relative. There may have been ♦philoso-
phers here and there, of whom this was not
wholly untrue, but it is not a fair comment on
the author of the Bhagavad Gita, who is essen-
tially practical and prophetic. He remembers,
at every point, that men have to live in the
world, that they have passions, tragedy, happi-
ness in life and that their religion must bear
on life and history. The Gita opens with a
problem of life, the crisis in Arjuna’s mind.
Arjuna sees friends and relations in the two
armies, his limbs tremble, his purpose
weakens, and he appeals to Krishna for advice.
Krishna asks him to do his duty in the station
in which he finds himself, and contribute to
the welfare of the world — ‘Lokasangraha.’ The
rationalist: "Vloltaire agrees with this injune-

XI

tion when he asks us to. cultivate our little
garden. We are called upon to do our duty in
the circumstances in which Ave happen to be
placed, to contribute our share of positive, cre-
ative activity, our effort with a direct soci-
al purpose. It is our duty to better the enAU-
ronment in which we are destined to spend our
brief and perilous years, under the shadow of
fear and misfortune, wickedness and stupid-
ity.

The truly religious men will have little sym-
pathy with those who mistake religion for
ritualism and assume that the existing social
institutions are ordained by God. The revolt
against religion is motived, the world over,
by its failure to deliver us from the utter futi-
lity and misery of the world in which we live,
from a social system which is so indifferent to
the suffering it produces. If the custodians of
religion with their cast-iron conservatism
regard the present order Avith its inequality,
as ordained by religion, no wonder the critics
complain about the futility of religion. Those
religious men, who, stiff Avith spiritual pride,
quote scriptures in defence of the inequalities
of caste and the horror of untouchability, show
themselves to be woefully lacking in the spirit
of religion. A life of religion does not consist
either in a rigid conformity to rules or a strict

Xll

imitation of past models, but ia the practice of
goodness which takes various forms in view of
changing circumstances. It is constituted by
acts of Jove, not articles of faith. Its attitudes
to moral problems are fresh and natural, not
unctuous and fixed up. It will burn with a
passion to liberate man from the brutal burden,
the living agony which age-old superstition
has foisted on him.

It is the duty of man to raise himself to this
higher plane. This great book gives directions
even to the weakest; its doors are wide open,
and its pages soiled by the fingers of ♦he poor
and the miserable. Different ways are indi-
cated to serve varied tastes. Mere scholarship
is not enough. There are great scholars whose
close knowledge of the text does not mean a
vital appreciation of the spirit. We must re-
make ourselves by giving up our selfishness.
St. John of the Cross says: “The soul
must be emptied from all that its own
powers are capable of ... . It must be
in darkness like a blind man. Who shall
hinder God doing His own will in a soul that
is resigned, detached, and self-annihilated?”*
When we are well stripped, well lost, we gain
ourselves, and all is ours.

•The Ascent of Mount Carmel.

Xlll

Professor Sarma has felt the truth of what
he says in his pulses, and I commend this book
to our young students for whom it is mainly
intended.

I can only repeat, in conclusion, the advice
which he has given them. Set aside a few
minutes every day for prayer and meditation.
Take up a verse or two of the Gita, read slow-
ly, let each word sink into your consciousness,
let its meaning pass into your mind, let its
lesson literally engrave itself on your thoughts.
If you sta^t the day’s work with such a feeling,
you will not forget that you live here for a
purpose larger than you see.

September, 1936. S. Radhakrishnan.

London,

HOW TO READ THE GITA

My aim in this series of talks on the Gita is
to stimulate interest in that great scripture
and induce our young men, especially students,
to make it the staff of their lives early in their
career, my aim is thus a very practical
one, I do not like to be drawn into any contro-
versy regarding the interpretation of this or
that passage. I have not got the qualifications
necessary for taking part in theological dis-
cussions. I am not a great Sanskrit scholar
and I have not made any systematic study of
the various schools of Hindu Philosophy. As
all of you kno-sv, my subject is English language
and LiteraGire. My only qualification for
undertaking to speak on the Gita is that I
intensely love that scripture which has trans-
formed my life. I want that others also should
derive the same benefit from reading it as I.
have done.

There are various ways of reading the Gita.
There is first of all the ritualistic way of read-

'Z HOW TO KEAD THE GITA

ing it as part of daily ceremonial. How mecha-
nical this sometimes becomes will be seen when
we remember that many of the readers of this
class do not know Sanskrit and look upon the
verses as sacred mantras which purify men by
their very utterance, whether the meaning is
understood or not. Well, it is not in this way
that I want our young men to read the Gita.

Secondly, there is the theologian’s way of
reading it as a sectarian gospel.. Every
professed student of Hindu theology is expect-
ed to read the Prasthanatraya — the Upani-
shads, the Brahma Sutras and the Bliagavad,
Gita — with the commentaries of the Acharya
of his particular sect. The Gita is thus made
part of a theological course, and the aim of the
student is to understand hov' the scripture
lends support to the philosophical system of
a particular teacher. I do not say that this
■way of studying the Gita is entirely wrong, or
profitless. But that is not the way suitable for
.a young man who wants to make the scripture
his spiritual guide.

Thirdly, there is the European scholar’s way
of reading the Gita Avith all the critical appa-
ratus available to him because the scripture is
one of the notable books in the literature of
the Avorld. It is intellectual curiosity more
than anything else that prompts a foreigner

HOW TO READ THE GITA

6

to know what the Gita teaches. We ourselves
are actuated by this spirit to read the Christian
gospels or the Koran. But it is not in this
way that a Hindu student should appro^ich the
Gita which thousands of hie countrymen
regard as a sacred book and which has shaped
their spiritual ideals and satisfied their reli-
gious needs.

Lastly, there is the old-time Christian
Missionary’s way of reading the Gita, ;only for
the purpose of finding fault with it and of prov-
ing by qiioting isolated passages how it is
inconsistent, unsatisfactory and, above all, far
inferior to his own gospels. I admit that the
attitude of the missionaries to Hinduism is
somewhat changed now. But I doubt very
much whether the change amounts to anything
more than a change of tactics. The old Adam
who believed that Christianity was the crown
of Hinduism is still there. Only he has grown
a little more x^olite* H is not in this super-
cilious spirit that the Gita should be read by
our young men. Even when they come across
verses which speak in terms of what may
appear to be an obsolete science or an anti-
quated social order, they should pause and try
to understand the spirit of the message and
learn to distinguish the kernel from the husk
of the living seed.

4

HOW TO READ THE GITA

But probably some of my young friends may
say, ‘‘Why should we read the Gita? We
have so many books to read. The demands on
our tiipe are already too many.’’ True, the
demands are many. But this imperious
demand will give a unity and a direc-
tion to all the other demands when once you
admit it into your programme. Your life is
a thing of shreds and patches till religion
comes into it and makes it a seamless garment.
For, remember, true religion is not a separate
activity of your soul, but only the* spirit in
which you carry on all your activitie^B. It is
something which introduces order and single-
ness of aim into your manifold activities which
otherwise would remain chaotic and aimless.
The life of a truly religious man is like a statue
carved out of a single rock, whereas the life
of a man who has not come under the influence
of a great religious ideal is like a scarecrow —
a thing of shreds and patches. Moreover our
lot is cast in a world full of sorrow, pain and
disappointment. The pleasures that we have
are fleeting. The^^ seem to exist only to make
our sorrows more poignant. Especially so in
our country, which has been called “the land
of tears and sorrow.” In all this welter of
poverty, unemployment, ignorance, disease and
death, our mainstay for ages has been religion.^

HOW TO READ THE GITA S

Without the consolations of religion the lot of
our masses would have been much more miser-
able than it is. But it is not merely as a dope
that I am recommending the study of the Gita
to our young men. It is not to forget their
cares and sorrows that I am asking them to
read this scripture, but to look them full in
the face and set in opposition to them their own
unconquerable souls fortified by self-knowledge
and faith in God. .

There are some false prophets among us,
esi3ecially*among University teachers, who say
that literature could serve the purpose of reli-
gion and that the study of poetry could be
substituted for the study of the scripture. As
I have elsewhere discussed this question at
length, T will only state my conclusion here by
quoting from one of my essays : —

^‘The centre of religion is nothing less than
the expansion of consciousness beyond the
limits of the individual mind so as to embrace
that universal consciousness and bliss which
we call Deity. It will be observed at once that
the core of religion is in a way the very anti-
thesis of the core of poetry. For it is the
complete surrender of a separate self, the repu-
diation of the human standpoint. And to act
thus is obviouslv to move away from the human

6 HOW TO BEAD THE GITA

position of laughter and tears, of joy jand
sorrow, of love and hate. It is an attempt to
reach a state in which man ceases to be man,
and therefore poetry cannot follow him there
without ceasing to be poetry. For poetry
revels in the antinomies of emotion, while reli-
gion tries to transcend them. Poetry con-
serves all individual values, while religion
surrenders them all. Poetry loves the rain-
bow colours of creation, while religion
seeks the pure white radiance of eternity.
Poetry lives and moves and has its b^ing amid
the many, while religion ascends to tjie One.
Therefore, as an English mystic poet has said,
‘^Poeti-y cannot save the soul, but makes it
worth saving.’’ Poetry enriches the treasures
of the heart of man, and religion offers them
at the feet of God.”

Moreover, poetry has not got the driving
power which religion has. It only points to
the good life, but it cannot make you lead it.
Therefore, young men, do not be carried away
by the heresy that poetry could be a substitute
for religion. Each has its own part to play in
the progress of man. Prom my own experi-
ence as a student of literature and of religion
I say that the functions of the two are sepa-
rate, and that in fact religion begins where
poetry leaves off.

HOW TO REAP THE GITA i

This does not mean that .yon should wait till
your old age for a serious study of religion.
There is a misconception that religion is only
for the old, that it is only after a man makes
his money and retires from active life that
lie should begin to read the Bhagavad Gita and
similar books. But if 'religion is to be a force
that transforms our lives, if it is to be a spirit
that gives a unity and a singleness of aim to all
our activities and not simply a knowledge of
doctrines or .dogmas, what is the use of going
to it when^all our activities are over and when
our lives have almost come 'to an end? What fre-
quently happens is that when a man ignores
in his early life the imperious need of his heart
for a religion, he speedily becomes a prey to
superstition. That is why many of 'our
graduates who were sceptics in their University
days become as bigoted and superstitious in
their old age as any ignorant peasant. If it is
not mere mechanical ritualism that satisfies
them, it is often nothing more than a self-satis-
fied knowledge of the doctrines of a particular
school of mediaeval theology. In any case it
has little to do with conduct which is three-
fourths of religion. How far the Gita is from
such types of religion, it is partly the aim of
these talks to show. I, therefore, implore all
students to begin reading the Gita from to-day

y HOW TO READ THE GITA

and try to mould tiieir lives according to its
teaching. It is the best scripture for a Hindu
who wants to know the essence of his religion
and is in need of a spiritual guide. For the
Gita is*simple and easy on the whole; it is un-
sectarian; and, above all, it is a practical
gospel. What vistas of sj)iritual life it opens
up for the young student who allows it to influ-
ence his thought and conduct! No wonder that
those who feel grateful to this scripture for the
solace and guidance it gives call it their mother.
Mahatma Gandhi once said in an jiddress to
students that he lost his mother earlj in life,
but that the Gita took her place.* That is
really the feeling of every Hindu who has gone
to it in moments of doubt, despair or sorrow.

If the necessit}^ of the Gita for all Hindus
who want to lead a good life with a worthy pur-
pose is established, what is the right method
of approaching it? First of all, are we to
read the Gita in the original or in translations?
The answer is simple. If you cannot read and
understand it in the original, read it at least in
translations. Let me say at once that I am
not one of those who believe that a knowledge
of Sanskrit is essential to our salvation. Please
remember that the whole of Christendom reads

Appendix I.

HOW TO READ THE GITA ^

the message of its Master not in the Aramaic in
which Christ is said to have delivered it, nor
in the popular Greek in which it is recorded,
but in the various vernaculars of Europe. No
average Christian ever feels that he should
learn Greek before he can understand the
gospels. Similarly, no average Hindu should
ever think that he cannot understand the
message of the Gita without a knowledge of
Sanskrit. I do not deny that it is an immense
advantage ko a Hindu student to possess a
knowledg# of Sanskrit. I myself am profoundly
grateful' to my father who made me take Sans-
krit as my optional language in my High School
classes. With the little knowledge of Sanskrit I
picked up in my schoof and college classes, I
liave been able to read the Gita and also explore
its sources, the Upanishads. But at the same
time T say emphatically that a lack of the
knowledge of Sanskrit is no excuse on the part
of a Hindu student for being ignorant of the
contents of the Gita. There are now available,
and in cheap editions too, innumerable trans-
lations of the scripture. There are translations
in our vernaculars, and there are translations
in English. I should like to recommend both.
For in the vernacular translations, at any rate
in our Telugu, the same Sanskrit expressions
are used as are found in the original, and they

10

HOW TO READ THE GITA

will form an easy transition to the sacred ver-
ses themselves. But I am afraid many of these
expressions have now become hackneyed and
technical and have lost all their original fresh-
ness and so often fail to interpret the Gita in
terms of modern life. And unless we under-
stand the Gita in terms of our own lives, we can-
not derive any benefit from it. For I cannot too
often repeat that our students should read the
Gita not as a piece of theology or philosophy,
but as a practical guide to spiritual life. I
venture to submit, therefore, that joi^^bably an
English translation would serve their purpose
better than a vernacular translation. Most of
our students in schools and colleges at the
present day think in English and, therefore, an
expression like ‘^a life of disinterested acti-
vity’^ has a greater appeal to their minds than
the familiar expression — ^ ^ Karma- Yoga, ” No
wonder, therefore, that within the last thirty
years, after the Gita was translated into
English and made available to all at a nominal
price, this scripture entered upon a new career
of conquest. We must frankly admit that wc
owe an immense debt of gratitude to
Mrs. Besant and to Messrs. G. A. Natesan
and Co., for having popularised the Gita
through a cheap English translation.

After the question whether the Gita should

HOW TO READ THE GITA

11

be read in the original or in translations, comes
the question of the commentaries. Are we to
read the bare text or the text with the commen-
taries? I unhesitatingly say that in the early
stages you should confine yourselves to the bare
text. I know this is quite contrary to the tradi-
tional procedure. To some of our countrymen,
reading the Gita without the commentary of
some Acharya or other is simply anathema. I
have the greatest respect for our Acharyas. We
moderns are .pigmies before these great giants.
We are n»t fit to untie their shoes either in the
region G>f scholarship or purity of life or single-
ness of aim. But we must remember that
they interpreted the Gita and the Upanishads
according to the needs of their age. They
rendered invaluable service to Hinduism by
emphasising those aspects of it which at the
time were in danger of being ignored. If we are
to be loyal to the spirit and not merely the let-
ter of their great commentaries, we should try
in our own humble way to interpret the Gita
according to the needs of our own age and in
terms of our own lives. In doing so w^e cannot^
of course, ignore the traditional interpre-
tations. In fact many a difficult verse would re-
main a dark mystery to us but for the light
thrown upon it by a Sankara or a Ramanuja.
But what I submit is that there are hundreds of

12

HOW TO READ THE GITA

verses in the Gita which present no difficulty
whatsoever and upon the interpretation of
which all are agreed. These are quite enough
for our purposes. We can go direct to them,
translate them into the idiom of our day and
assimilate their spirit. Therefore my advice
to the young- student has always been this.

Plunge into the Gita unaided. Read the bare
text either in the original or in translation
over and over again. Mark all those passages
which ax)peal to you. Meditate on them and
try to act on them. You will find»that light
will come to you in strange and unexpected
ways. You might refer to the commentaries
later on and find out the meaning of the diffi-
cult verses.’’ But it is not impossible nowa-
days to find editions of the Gita either in
English or our vernaculars which give you
notes on the different interpretations given
by the Acharyas of the difficult passages in it
in a handy form. Such editions considerably
simplify the task of even an advanced student
of the Gita.

The next question is whether it is necessary
to read the Gita every day as some people do,
or whether it is enough to make a study of it,
understand its message and leave it at that.
Well, it all depends on the object with
which YOU read it. If it is only to understand

HOW TO READ THE GITA

13

the contents of a famous book, a more or less
detailed study of it for a month or two would
be enough. But if the Gita is to be used as a
spiritual guide in every detail of your CJ^nduct,
if the Yogin that it describes in several places
is to be your ideal, it is necessary that you
should go to this scripture every day. The
Gita could be read through in two or three
hours. But to understand and assimilate all
that it teaches, w'ould probably take a whole
life-time. Therefore the best procedure for a
young student seems to be this. In the begin-
ning he i should read it through several times
marking all the passages that appeal to him.
Then he should take it chapter by chapter and
read it carefully and try to understand the
logical sequence of the verses. And finally he
should make it a habit to read a chapter or a
section of a chapter every morning and carry
in his mind a verse or two and make his
thoughts dwell on it in the course of the day,
whenever he has leisure. Thus gradually the
sacred words and exxoressions should soak into
him and enter into the very fibres of his heart.
From my own experience I tell you that you
may read the Gita a thousand times and think
you have exhausted its meaning, but the next
time you go to it you will get a new light which
you never dreamt of before. The suggestive-

14 HOW TO READ THE GITA

ness of this wonderful book is really infinite,
when once you approach it in the right spirit.

And what is the right spirit! Briefly, I think
it is th?s. You should not look upon the Gita
as simply a dialogue between two historical or
quasidiistorical characters in the remote past.
You should look upon it as a living dialogue
that goes on every day in the recesses of every
striving soul. God speaks to us as He spoke
to Arjuna on the field of battle, if only we tune
our ears to hear His voice. His is a continuous
revelation unto the children of men. His
witnesses do not belong to the past oMy. His
oracles are not dead. The truth of this you
will understand, if only you look upon every
verse in the Gita as addressed to you personal-
ly. Say to yourself whenever you read the
scripture, myself am Arjuna. It is me that
the Teacher is reprimanding when He says: —
‘Whence has this loathsome feeling come
upon thee in this crisis! Tt is ignoble, it is
disgraceful, it debars thee from heaven. Do
not yield to this weakness. It does not become
thee. Shake off this base faintness of heart
and stand up.’ (II. 2 and 3.)

“It is me that He is addressing when He
says : —

‘Whatsoever thou doest, whatsoever thou
eatest, whatsoever thou offerest, whatsoever

HOW TO READ THE GITA

15

thou givest away and whatsoever of austeri-
ties thou dost practise — do that as an offering
unto me.’ (IX. 27.)

‘‘And finally it is me that He is takkig into
His loving arms when He says : —

‘Surrendering all duties, come unto me alone
for shelter. Do not grieve, for I will release
thee from all sins.’ (XVIII. 66)”

It is ill this spirit, my friends, that I want
you to approach the Gita. Unless you learn to
interpret ,the sacred words in terms of your
own lives, you cannot wring the secret out of
them.

One word more. Nothing helps you to
understand the suggestiveness of the Gita so
well as a habit of prayer or contemplation.

Knock and it shall be opened, ask and it shall
be given”. Sometimes we in our ignorance
and foolishness ask for stone, and bread is given
to us. In the early stages of a life of prayer
we ask for the fleeting things of this wwld, but
in a very short time we learn to overcome this
weakness and are in a position to say, “Not
my will, but Thy will be done”. A man who
has learnt this lesson of surrendering his will
to the will of God, who has understood the
meaning of the injunction “Nimitta matram
bhava Savyasachin” (Be thou only the outward

16

HOW TO READ THE GITA

cause, O Arjuna) has come very near the core
of the teaching of the Gita. Thus the habit of
daily prayer and the habit of the daily reading
of the, Gita should supplement each other.
They should be to us like the two wings of a
bird. The wisdom of the ages and individual
effort should both co-operate in achieving spiri-
tual progress. Without individual effort there
can be no progress; and without the guidance
of the scripture there is no guarantee that the
progress would be truly spiritual.

Grentlemen, to-day I have tried to confine my-
self to the subject ‘^How to read the Gita.’’
You should excuse my temerity in assuming that
I am addressing those who have not yet read
the Gita. I know that as a matter of fact
there are many here wlio have read that book
more often perhaps than I have done. But
this series of talks is intended primarily for
the benefit of young students who have not
yet made their acquaintance with the Gita.
That is why I have included in the series this
preliminary and rather superficial talk on
‘^How to read the Gita.” To-morrow I will go
to the subject proper and speak about the con-
tent and the form of the Gita.

:o:

II

THE CONTENT AND THE FORM
OF THE GITA

I have always considered that the content
and the form of the Gita cannot be better
expressed than by the formula that is repeated
at the end, of every chapter of the book: —
^‘Thns in the Song of the Lord, in the XJpani-
shad, in the science of the Absolute, in the
scripture of Yoga, in the dialogue between Sri
Krishna and Arjnna, this is the third or fourth
chapter entitled etc.’^

Let me, therefore, point out the implications
of every phrase used in this colophon.

First of all, the scripture is called the Song
of the Lord. It is a song or a series of songs.
It is not, therefore, a theological or a philoso-
phical treatise. Accordingly there are no clear-
cut logical steps in the argument, nor are the
terms used with any scientific precision or
exactitude. There is a good deal of repetition
and overlapping in the Gita. And many
words are used in different senses. For
instance, the word Yoga, which is the key to

18 THE CONTENT AND THE FORM OF THE GITA

the whole scripture, is used in half-a-dozen
different senses. And the word Atman is used
in the sense of body, mind, soul, oneself and
the At)solute; and the word Brahman may
mean the impersonal Absolute or a personal
God or tlie sacred Veda. Therefore all
attempts to read a cut and dried system into
the Bhagavad Gita or divide the whole scrip-
ture into three equal Shatkas, the first dealing
with Karma-yoga, the second dealing vdth
Bhakti-yoga and the third dealing with Jnana-
yoga, are bound to be futile. All that we can
say is tliere are two streams of thought fiow-
ing throughout the poem, an ethical stream and
a ^metaphysical stream dealing respectively
Avith what man ought to do and what God is.
In some chapters the ethical stream is more
in evidence than the metaphysical stream, in
some the metaphysical stream is more in
evidence than the ethical stream, and in some
both the streams flow side hj side, sometimes
even mingling their waters. A beginner, there-
fore, will do Avell to launch his frail boat on the
almost transparent ethical stream and avoid
for some time the blue metaphysical deeps
full of jagged rocks on which many a theolo-
gian has planted his sectarian banner. But
it is not always an easy task. For there are
no clear demarcations. The transitions are

THE CONTENT AND THE FORM OF THE GITA 19

too abrupt. The logical -sequence is not al-
ways obvious. But for the light thrown by
Sankara and other great commentators, the
connection between some of the verses would
have been more obscure than it is. Even with
all the helps that we have, we have to admit
tliat the Gita as a whole is rather irre-
gular. It is irregular as the mountains
are irregular, as the forests are irregular, as
the ocean is irregular. The fact of the matter
is it is a poem, a collection of songs — not a
work of ti^Gology or idiilosophy. Its appeal is
to the whole man and not to his isolated
logical understanding. The Gita touches our
hearts, convinces our minds and shapes our
wills. It covers the whole way of man’s pil-
grimage to the feet of God.

The second expressioii in the colophon is
Upanishatsu, The Gita is looked upon as
an Upanishad. In fact, it is the essence of
all Upanishads which, as all of you
know, are the ultimate sources of Hinduism.
I need not remind you of the well-known
verse which compares the TTpanishads
to cows, the Gita to milk, Krishna to a cow-
herd and Arjuna to a calf. But the point to
be noticed is that the Gita is a layman’s IJpa-
nishad, as the Mahabharata which contains it
is the layman’s Veda. This means, firstly, that

20 THE CONTENT AND THE FORM OF THE GITA

the Gita is intended for all classes of men and
not to the initiates only. In this scripture the
gates of the heavenly kingdom are thrown
open to all without any distinction of caste or
creed, age or sex. The keys of salvation are
put into the hands of all. Secondly, it means
that the Gita is a fuller scripture than the
Upanishads. In the Upanishads, only the last
stages of the spiritual journey are referred to.
The earlier stages are presupposed, for these
forest treatises are meant for those who have
qualified themselves for the instruction by the
purity of their lives, by their faith in God and
by their passion for the ultimate Reality. The
seekers after truth in the Upanishads are
those who have retired from the world, while
the seeker after truth in the Gita, as typified
by Arjuna, is a man who is still in the world
and who is not yet free from its bonds. He
is a novice in spiritual life. Therefore the
Teacher has to begin at the very beginning.
He has to begin with the alphabet of spiritual
life. He has to tell the pupil that spiritual
life does not mean the abandoning of his
duties, but discharging them in a more faithful
manner, in a more prayerful spirit, and with a
ditferent objective. He has to teach him that
though the contemplative life is higher than
the life of action, though the psalmist is nearer

THE CONTENT AND THE FORM OF THE GITA . 21

God than the crusader, one cannot jump all
at once to the top of the hill, but must pro-
ceed thither by stages. The Gita says : —

^‘Work is said to be the means of a s^e who
wants to attain to yoga; but when he has
attained to yoga, serenity is said to be the
means.” (VI. 3.)

Yoga or spiritual life is like a
hill whose base is action and whose top is
contemplation. It is through right kind of
action that "ve rise to contemplation. Con-
templative* life without the preliminary train-
ing of active life is only vacuity, if not a
delusion and a snare. This is the fundamental
teaching of this layman’s Upanishad. By
raising the Gita to the rank of an Upanishad
and accepting its teaching as authoritative,
Hinduism has only reaffirmed its faith in the
principle of graded progress that underlies
its ancient scheme of the four asramas.

The third expression in the colophon is
Brahmaindpaymn, This shows at once that the
Gita is not a mere manual of ethics. Its aim
is Brahmavidya or knowledge of God. The
end of spiritual life is the vision of God. The
second section of the Gita which begins with
the seventh chapter opens with these words: —

‘^Hear thou, O Arjuna, how by fixing thy
mind on me and taking refuge in me and prac-

22. THE CONTENT AND THE FORM OP THE GITA

tising Yoga, thou mayst without any doubt
know me in full.’^ (VII. 1.)

The sanctions of morality are found in reli-
gion. The ludicrous modern idea of teaching
morality without religion gets no support from
any great scripture in the world, and least of
all from the Gita, shot through and through as
it is with moral instruction. I have elsewhere
pointed out that it is as absurd to say that the
Gita is merely a gospel of social service or
humanitarian work as to say that it is a gospel
of duty for duty^s sake. Let me qmote a few
sentences from my Introduction to the* Gita on
this point: —

‘^Similarly the Gita is not merely a gospel
of social service or humanitarian work. The
ideal Yogin that it describes is not a man who
puts mankind in place of God. He does not
worship societ}^ he worships God. He is a
servant of God before he becomes a servant
of man. To him divine service comes first and
social service next. With him work for huma-
nity is only a mark or manifestation of that
abounding life which comes to one who has
entered the kingdom of Spirit. Social service
which is divorced from spirituality is only an
artificial flower which has neither life nor
fragrance. The Gita, no doubt, in a famous
phrase, insists on the importance of work for

th;P content and the form of the gita 23

the good of the world. But it insists much
more on finding God who is the source of all
goodness. ’ ’

But no Hindu need ever he told thaj; mora-
lity is no substitute for religion. His sin
generally consists in going to the other extreme
and making mere ritualism, an admittedly low
kind of religion, a substitute for morality.
However, it should be recognised by all that
morality with its ever-receding ideal gains its
completion only in religion, in whicli ‘what
ought to fee’ is merged in ‘what is’, and thus
the nnr'eal ideal becomes an actual fact. And it
should also be recognised on the other hand
that true religion always strengthens morality.

The fourth expression in the colophon is
¥oga-S(ustre. The Gita is a Yoga-'Sastra, its
message is Yoga, its God is Yogesvara and the
ideal man it describes is a Yogin. These four
words. Yoga, Yogin, Yoga-Sastra and Yoges-
vara have to be carefully borne in mind by all
who want to understand the import of the
Gita. I cannot too often repeat that the Avord
‘yoga’ gives the clue to the whole scripture and
that the word is used in the Gita in its primary
sense of union or fellowship with God. The
Gita is called a Yoga-Sastra because it teaches
us the way to that union or fellowship. The
union has to be achieved through righteous-

24 THE CONTENT AND THE FORM OP THE OITA

ness, througli loving devotion, through intense
meditation and through mystic vision. Accord-
ingly we have the division of Yoga into Karma-
yoga, l^hakti-yoga, Dhyana-yoga and Jnana-
yoga. It is idle to contend that there is any
j&xed number of divisions or that there is any
hard and fast line between one division and
another. The way is one, as God is one. You
may divide it into as many parts as you please,
as you may call God by as many names as you
please. For the way is a natural slope, not an
artificial staircase in which you c#uld count
the steps. Spiritual life is a wholes and it
involves the discipline of our will, our emotions
and our intellect. So it is only for purposes
of analysis that we isolate the discipline of
the wdll and call it Karma-yoga, or the discip-
line of the emotions and call it Bhakti-yoga or
the discipline of the intellect and call it Jnana-
yoga. The various parts of Yoga 'can .’no
more be separated from oii'^ another than the
various functions of our minds could be sepa-
rated from one another. The Bhagavad Gita at
any rate knows no such separation. It treats
yoga, which is the goal as well as the path of
religious life, as one organic whole, though it
dwells now on one aspect of it and now on
another.

Again, it is significant that the Gita is called

THE CONTENT AND THE FORM OP THE GITA . 25

a Yoga-sastra and not a Dharma-sastra, though
the whole teaching arose out of a doubt regard-
ing Dliarma. Arjuna fears at the outset that
by taking part in the war his immemorktl Jati-
dharma and Kula-dharma would be destroy-
ed and he tells his Friend that his mind is
perplexed about Dharma. Then at the end of
the whole teacliing he says: "‘My doubts are
cleared. I will do what you say.” (XVIII,
73.) And we know he fights. But, one may
ask, wliat has happened to the immemorial
Jati-dhanfia and Kula-dharma? Have they
not been destroyed? And how does Ar;juna
look v/ith equanimity on the destruction
of these Dharmas which he held so dear?
The fact of the matter is that there is an ocean
of difference between the conception of Dharma
with whicli Arjuna started and the conception
of Dharma which the Bhagavan revealed to
him through His teaching in the Gita. To put
it briefly, Arjuna ’s conception of Dharma is
mechanical, whereas the Bhagavan ’s concep-
tion is organic. What is the difference between
a mechanism and an organism? A clock is a
mechanism, a tree is an organism. In a clock
the parts are put together externally. Its
shape and size do not arise out of any inner
necessity. They are determined from outside.
Whereas in a tree the parts grow from within.

26 ^ THE CONTENT AND THE FORM OF THE GITA

Its shape and size arise out of the inner principle
of growth. A mechanism has no life, it can-
not adjust itself to its environment., Whereas
an orgginism is living and it has the power of
adjusting itself to the changing conditions.
Similarly, in a mechanical conception of
Dharma we have only rigid rules imposed from
without, whereas in an organic conception "of it
we have living laws arising from within. Rules
are not ends in themselves. They are only
means to an end. Their utility siiould
always be judged by the degree to which they
promote the end. If they cease to ^iromote
the end, they cease to have any utility. And if
still they are kept on, they are only a hindrance
to growth. They are like dead wood which is
no help or ornament to a tree. So Dharma
which consists only of mechanical rules with-
out any living connection with Yoga or union
with God, which is the end of religious life, is
Dharma only for the ignor;int. True Dharma
is that which is in vital connection with Yoga.
It adjusts itself from within as the soul prog-
resses on the path of union. External rules
are, no doubt, indispensable in the early stages,
but a man who cannot dispense with them at
some stage or other has ceased to grow. All
of us require the help of a teacher in the begin-
ning, but if we require his help throughout

THE CONTENT AND THE FORM OP THE GITA 27

there undoubtedly something wrong with
us. Rules, teachers, institutions and scriptures
are only leading strings for the infant soul.
I admit we are all infants in the kingdom of
God. But the Gita which maps out for us the
wliole spiritual life boldly says that freedom
from external control is the mark of spiritual
adolescence, and tluit in the fellowship of God
there is no such thing as immemorial, eternal,
or unalterable Jati-dharma or Kula-dharma.
All Dharmas are dissolved in the fruition of
Yoga. In Ihe presence of the king himself his
deputiej-f have no authority over us. though
they have helped us to gain entrance into the
royal chamber. Is this not the meaning of that
famous and oft-quoted verse at the end of the
Gita?

‘‘Renouncing all Dharmas, come unto me
alone for shelter. Grieve not. I will release
thee from all sins.” (XVIII. 66.)

We now see why the Gita is not called a
Dharma-sastra, though it arose out of a ques-
tion of Dharma, and though the Bhagavan is
described in it as a Sasvata Dharma gopta —
the eternal guardian of Dharma, who incar-
nates himself from age to age for that very
purpose. Yoga, as understood in the Gita,
involves and transcends Dharma, as religious
life, involves and transcends ethical life.

28^ THE CONTENT AND THE FORM OP THE GITA

We HOW come to the last expression in the
colophon — Sri Krislinarjuna samvade. This
denotes the form of the Gita, as the preceding
expressions denote the contents of it. The
Gita is in the form of a dialogue between two
historical characters, who symbolise God and
man. Without in any way calling into question
the liistorieity of the Great War or the events
that gave rise to this scripture, I may point out
‘that the dialogue is a well-known literary form
in the Upanishads, of which the Gita is said to
be the essence. We have there the#wonderful
conversations between Yajnavalkya and Jana-
ka, between Yama and Nachiketas, between
Uddalaka and Svetaketu and so on. The form
of the Gita, therefore, is quite in accordance
with the tradition of the Upanishads, as its
contents are quite in accordance with their
message. Only just as the teaching is made
clearer, more explicit and more coherent, so
is the form made more disthict, dramatic and
natural by the fact that the conversation be-
tween Krishna and Arjuna takes place at a
supreme crisis in the history of our people.

Ill

THE GITA AND SPIRITUAL LIFE

What is spiritual life? We judge a man
generally by his external acts, for Ave do not
know the thoughts in his mind. But spiritual
life includes both. It represents what a man
is, not in the eyes of his felloAv beings, but in
the eyes of God. You know the two estimates
do not always coincide. Let me remind you
■of the famous passage on this point in Brow-
ning’s Rabbi Ben Ezra.

“Not on the vulgar mass
Called “Work” must sentence pass,
Things done, that took the eye and had

the price;

O’er Avhich, from level stand,

The low world laid its hand.

Pound straightAvay to its mind, could

value in a trice:

But all, the world’s coarse thumb
And finger failed to plumb.

So passed in making up the main account;

30

THE GITA AND SPIRITUAL LIFE

All instincts immature,

All purposes unsure,

That weighed not as his work, yet swelled
the man’s amount:
Thoughts hardly to be jiacked
Into a narrow act,

Fancies that broke through language and

escaped ;

All I could never be.

All, men ignored in me,

This, I was worth to God, whose wdieel the

pitcher shaped.

Browning does not include here all the evil
propensities, petty meannesses, uncharitable
suspicions and sinful fancies that often crawl
over the walls of our minds like lizards. God
takes into account even these when He judges
us — not on an imaginary judgment day as
Christians believe, but day by day and hour
by hour.

Now, the practical question before us to-
day is — How does the Gita help us to improve
this inner life of our minds as well as our
external conduct in the world? There are
some commentators who say that the Gita is
exclusively a gospel of Karma. There are
others who say that it is exclusively a gospel
of Bhakti, and there are others still who say

THE GITA AND SPIRITUAL LIFE

31

that it is exclusively a- gospel of Juana.
For instance, to the late Mr. Bal Gangadhar
Tilak the Gita is mainly a gospel of Karma-
yoga, to Ramanuja it is a gospel of Bhakti
yoga and to Sankara it is a gospel of Juana-
yoga. But the Gita is not a sectarian gospel.
It takes into account all aspects of spiritual
life. It deals not only with Karma-yoga,.
Bhakti-yoga and Jnana-^^oga, hut also with
Buddhi-yoga, Dhy ana-yoga and Sannyasa-
yoga. Therefore we should take its teaching
as a whojj? and call it simply the gospel of
Yoga oj^ spiritual life.

Modern i*esearches have established the
fundamental unity that underlies the spiritual
experiences of all saints of the world, whether
they are Hindu or Buddhist, Jewish or Muslim,
Christian or neo-Platonic. Though belonging
to different religions, it is seen that all the
great mystics of the world pass through the
same stages of experience, witness the same
landmarks and reach the same goal. I there-
fore believe that the proper thing for us to do
is to classify the religions of the world accord-
ing to this central steel frame of mystic or
spiritual experience. Adopting the language
of neo-Platonism, modern critics recognise
three stages in the mystic way — the so-called
purificatory stage, the illuminative stage and

32

THE GITA AND SPIRITUAL XJPE

the unitive stage. These three are preceded by
the so-called awakening, which is the beginning
of spiritual life. Purification, illumination and
union correspond more or less to our Karma-
yoga, Bhakti-yoga and Jnana-yoga. And the
introductory awakening corresponds to our
Buddhi-yoga which is preliminary to the other
three 7/ogus.

With the awakening, one may be said to
have entered on ^‘the paths”. The first of
these is the path of Karma. What is Karma?
There are some who give the word the narrow
meaning of rituals. But the Gita use.:; it in a
comprehensive sense. Karma includes all
voluntary acts of man which have any moral
value. The Gita points out that morals are
higher than rituals. At the same time it does
not ignore the value of rites and ceremonies.
For in the eighteenth chapter it says: —

‘‘Sacrifices, gifts and penance purify the
wise.” (XVIII. 5.)

But very often it happens in the history
of every religion that ritualism gets a
firm grip over men ’s minds and throttles
all true spiritual life. All the great prophets
of the world had to fight against the soulless
ritualism and priestcraft of their day. You
remember the scathing terms in which Christ

THE GITA AND SPIRITUAL LIFE

33

spoke of the Pharisees of his country. The
Rishis of our Upanishads had similarly to pro-
test against excessive faith in ritualism. And
similarly the author of the Gita •roundly
declares that all those who over-emphasize
rituals are fools: —

‘Spools who rejoice in the letter of the Veda
say, ‘There is nothing^ else but this.’ ” (II. 42. )

If we were to represent religion as a human
figure, rituals 'would form its feet, Avhile
morals would be its hands. In other words,
karma wlfieli includes both rituals and morals
would t)e its limbs, while bhakti would be its
heart and jiiaiia its liead.

The Gita’s deniineiation of excessive and
soulless ritualism has not lost its force even
to-day. I am sorry to say that there are
many amongst us even now who are very punc-
tilious about their rites and ceremonies, but
rather careless about their morals. There-
fore we cannot too often point out to our people
that moral purity is far higher than mere cere-
monial purity.

The Gita says that even rites and ceremonies
should be performed in a spirit of detachment
und with no desire for fruit. This brings us
to the famous formula of Nishkama-Karma.
What does Nishkama-karma, Avhich is supposed
3

34

THB GITA AND ^PIIMTUAL LIFE

to be tlic cliaracteristic teaciiiug of the Gita,-
mean exactly? Most of our actions are prompt-
ed by a worldly desire. They have a worldly
object in view. We care more for the conse-
quences of our actions than for their inherent
rig'litness. Itemember how often Arjuna in
th(‘ first chapter of the Gita harps on the conse-
quences of his taking* jiart in the battle and
never on the rightness of his doing so. A
spiritual man cares more for what is right for
liim to do than for what consequences will
follow. He shifts the aim from this world to
the other world, from a material plane to a
spiritual plane. Hence while the actions of a
worldly man have various worldly aims like
fame, riches, power and pleasure, the actions of
a spiritual man have all a single aim — the
betterment of his spiritual nature. The Gita
says : —

‘Hn this (Karma-yoga) the resolute mind
has a single aim, O Arjuna, but the thoughts
of the irresolute are manifold and endless.’^
(II. 41.)

When the resolute soul thus learns to subs-
titute a single spiritual aim for a thousand
worldly aims, it finds to its great joy that there
is no such thing as failure. For every
good deed and every kind thought automati-
cally exalts the soul. When we work for power

THE GITA AND SPIRITUAL LIFE

35

or fame or wealth, we rhay succeed or fail in
the world according to the circumstances, but
if we work only for the improvement of our
spiritual nature we cannot but succeed. Some-
times what the world regards as a most igno-
minious failure may be from the point of view
of the spirit a crowning victory, and vice
versa. The greatest victories in the world are
often due to the compromises of the spirit, to
the lowering of the standards and the accom-
modation of evil. So the Gita advises us to
have our gyes always on the spiritual goal and
to apply to all our actions the same spiritual
principle. If we do this steadily we find that
our efforts are never lost and that nothing can
stand in the way of our progress. The Gita
says : —

^‘In this no effort is ever lost, and no harm
is ever done.” (II. 40.)

Moreover, as the complete liberation of the
spirit from the bonds of matter is the ultimate
aim of this evolving universe, the Karma-yogin
who has always a spiritual aim in all his
doings will come to feel that he is in the hands
of God, that he is the instrument of a divine
purpose and that he is ‘Gn tune with the Infi-
nite.” Before the awakening, he was a SaJcta
or one who is attached to the world and there-
fore who is prompted by a thousand worldly

36

THE GITA AND SPIRITUAL LIFE

motives in all his actions. But now he has be-
come a YuMa or one who is in consonance with
the Eternal Spirit and who is therefore
prompted by a single spiritual motive in all
that he does. The aim of the whole Bhagavad
Gita is to convert a Sahta into a Yukta, to
wean the immortal soul from its worldly pre-
occupations and to restore it to the bosom of
the Eternal Spirit from which it came.

It is sometimes said that the ideal of Nish-
kama-karma does not ditfer from the Stoic
ideal of duty for duty’s sake. Bu^ this is a
mistake. For the ideal man of Stoicism en-
dures all evils coldly biting his lips^ and dis-
charges his duties, while the ideal yogin of the
Gita feels every moment that he is the servant
of God and that in His service lies not only
perfect freedom but also perfect joy. The Gita
is not a cold gospel of duty for duty’s sake. It
is a Gospel of duty for God’s sake. The
ideal \vise man of Stoicism relies on himself in
combating the ills of the world, whereas the
Yogin of the Gita, like the saint of all Theisms,
derives his strength from God in whom he
consciously lives and moves and has his being.

Prom this description of the Karma-yogin
you will see that there is no hard and fast line
between Karma and Bhakti. We have already
unconsciously passed from Karma to Bhakti.

THE GITA AND SPIRITUAL. LIFE

37

It is only for the sake of analysis that we sepa-
rate these two aspects of spiritual life. Spiri-
tual life is one, though it has many facets which
we might isolate for purposes of discussion.
Even in speaking of Karma-<yoga the Gita says
that a man should learn to give up both the
fruits of action and the agency of action.
Herein lies the germ of Bhakti-yoga. How
does a man learn to give up the agency of
action while actually taking part in it? It is
only by means of self-forgetting love. He
must die* unto himself and live unto God. It
is only when we make ourselves perfect instru-
ments of God, eliminating every trace of self
and ever saying ^‘Not my mil, but Thy will be
done,’’ that we transcend the law of Karma.
As long as we are self-centred we are in the
region of Samsara or moral causation. As we
sow, we reap. But true Bhakti or self -forgetting
love of God lifts us out of the region of mere
morality to a spiritual plane where a higher
law — the law of Love — prevails. Karma-yoga
is thus the solvent of the Law of Karma inas-
much as a man who surrenders to God both the
the fruit of action and the agency of action
partakes of His nature and goes beyond the
region of births and deaths.

Thus the Bhakti-yoga that is taught in the
Gita is only, the irrside view of Karma-yoga.

38

THE GITA AND SPIRITUAL LIFE

It is very different from the excessive emo-
tionalism of onr later Bhakti Schools. In the
Gita the warm emotion of Bhakti is held in its
place by moral enthusiasm on one side and
spiritual vision on the other. It is in fact one
of the most remarkable features of this great
scripture that according to its teaching the
various components of spiritual life — Karma,
Bhakti and Juana — should be kept in perfect
balance and harmony. Obviously, therefore,
those who make the Gita predominantly a
gospel of Karma-yoga or Bhakti yoga or
Jnana-yoga seem to me to go against tlfe very
spirit of its teaching.

The intensive phase of Bhakti-yoga is called
Dhyana-yoga in the Gita. It consists of
moments of rapt prayer when the soul lifts
itself to the heights of the eternal Being and
stands speechless, but satisfied. There is a
wonderful description of it in the Sixth
Chapter : —

^^That in which the mind is at rest restrain-
ed by the practice of concentration, that in
which he beholds the spirit through the mind
and rejoices in the spirit:

‘‘That in which he knows the boundless joy
beyond the reach of the senses and grasped
only by the understanding and that in which

THE GITA AND SPIRITUAL LIFE

39

when he is established, he never departs from
reality :

^‘Tliat (»ii i^ainin^ Avhich he feels there is no
greater gain and that in which he abides and
is not moved even by the heaviest of afflic-
tions — let that be known as yoga/’ (VI. 20-
23 .)

Here is a type of spiritual experience which
only those wlio lead a life of prayer and medi-
tation can appreciate. In the face of such
verses it is absurd to say that the Gita is
merely a* gospel of duty for duty’s sake or
that it is a gospel of humanitarian work or
social service. I cannot too often repeat that
it is a comprehensive gospel of Yoga or spiri-
tual life and that it includes all tlie ways and
means by whicli man is brought into union
with God.

It is this union Avith God that Ave call Jnana
or self-realisation. The Avord Jnana, as it is
used in oui' Vedantie literature, has no corres-
ponding e<)iiiAalent in English, Jnana does
not mean mere knoAvledge, though the two
words come from the same root. It is much
more than knowledge. It comprises both knoAv-
ing and being. For Ave can never know God as
we know a tree or a building, as an object out-
side ourselves. God is not an object. He is
the eternal • subject. Therefore we cannot

40

THE GITA AND SPIEITUAI 4 LIPE

attain to Him through external knowledge, but
by internal growth. Here knowing* is being.
That is, to the extent to which we partake of
the diviiie nature we may be said to know^ Him.
I take it that that is the meaning of the verse
in the Gita: —

‘^Thoii alone knoAvest Thyself through Thy-
self, O Supreme Person.’^ (X. 15.)

In the Eleventh Chapter of the Gita we have
an attempt at the description of those rare
moments in the life of a soul wdien space and
time seem to be abolished and wdieii it has a
vision of the far and . the near, of the the

present and the future as a single Reality in
which the experiencing soul is itself included.
Some of us who are of a romantic tempera-
ment have a momentary glimpse of this expe-
rience ivheii we are moved by a great tragedy
or w^hen we fall in love. But a man who is
well established in Jnana has more or less a
steady vision of this all-including spirit and
lie acts in the light of it. In the words of the
Gita he sees all beings in himself and himself
in all beings, and, being a perfect Yogin, he
looks upon all creatures as himself in pleasure
and in pain. He sees the fundamental mystic
unity of all things in God. Mahatma Gandhi
once said that we all share one another’s sins
and virtues. According to our belief this con*

THE GITA AND SPIRITUAL LIFE

41

soiousness, this power, is not the exclusive pri-
vilege of any one unique soul, but of all souls.
Jnana is the heritage of all. It is the goal of
the mystic way. It is the final stage of spiri-
tual life.

Spiritual life begins with the awakening and
l^roceeds along Karma and Bhakti and reaches
its culmination in Jnana. But there are no
hard and fast lines between one phase and
another. Spiritual life is not a staircase in
which we can count the steps. It is a gentle
slope that* leads us to the feet of God.

IV

THE GITA AND CONTEMPORARY
THOUGHT

Yesterday we saw how the Yoga taught in
the Gita is an expression of universal mystic
experience. Its various stages correspond
roughly to the stages of the mystic way reveal-
ed to us in the biographies of the great saints
and mystics of the world. To-day we come
to another aspect of the Gita, its relation to
the religious thought of its day — how it absorb-
ed and transcended all the types of religion
existing among the people at the time when this
scripture came into existence. I will try to
show its relation to six types or groups of reli-
gious thought and practice. The Gita is a
gospel of toleration. The great teacher tole-
rates almost every type of thought and at the
same time points out its weakness and shows
the higher way. He does not like to unsettle
the minds of the ignorant. It is only when a
man adds obstinacy to intolerance that He
grows indignant.

THE GITA AND CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT 43

The first group of thinkers we have to con-
sider consists of atheists, materialists and free
thinkers. Yesterday a gentleman from the
audience in this hall sent np to me a slip of
paper containing the following question —
‘‘What is the message of the Gita to a man who
has no faith in the existence of God?’^ The
answer is given in the sixteenth chapter of the
scripture which I recommend to this gentle-
man for careful study. He will find that the
teacher condemns in scathing terms all
atheists, materialists and free thinkers, but
only wlfen their doctrines lead to immorality or
social disruption. His advice to these misguided
men is twofold. First, let them avoid the three
gates of darkness that lead to the ruin of
their souls, namely lust, Avrath and greed. He
says : —

“The man who has escaped these three gates
of darloiess, O Arjuna, works out his own good
and reaches the highest state.” (XVI. 22.)

Secondly, let them folloAV the lead of scrip-
tures and they Avill emerge out of darkness into
light. We do not know exactly what schools
of contemporary thought the Teacher had
in his mind in the sixteenth chapter. It is
believed, however, that those who later came
to be called Charvakas were the principal
oifenders. But, as I have said, it is only when

44 THE GITA AND CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT

their doctrines lead to wicked deeds that they
seem to be shut out of grace. Thus the line
of toleration that the Gita draws is the lowest
possible.

The second group of men, whose thought
and practice we have to consider, consists of
ritualists. I have already said that the Gita
gives the right place to rites and ceremonies
in religious life, but condemns the ritualists
who make a fetish of them. It extends the
meaning of the two popular words Karma and
Yajna. Karma in a popular sehse. means
rituals. But the Gita does not use it in this
narrow sense. According to it Karma includes
all the conscious actions of a man which have
an ethical or spiritual value. Once in Madras a
gentleman speaking on the Gita boldly declared
that the word Karma in the Gita always meant
ritualistic action (Yajna Yagadi Karma). I
had to ask him what he v^ould say to the ques-
tion of Arjuna in the first verse of the third
chapter.

^‘If thou dost hold that insight is superior
to action, why dost thou urge me to this horri-
ble action (Karma), O Krishna?” (III. 1.)

Here obviously action is not ritualistic
action. Scores of such passages could be quot-
ed to show that the Gita uses the word Karma

THE GITA AND CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT 45

in a comprehensive sense so as to include moral
^nd spiritual actions as well as ritualistic acts.

Similarly it extends the meaning of the word
Yajna. In the fourth chapter after *describ-
ing the various kinds of Yajna it says : —

‘^Knowledge as a sacrifice is superior to all
sacrifices of material objects.’’ (IV. 33.)

Again in the tenth chapter the Bhagavan
says

‘‘Of all olferings I am the offering of silent
pra^^er,” (X, 25.)

Nay, mwe. We can enjoy all objects of this
world in a true sacrificial spirit. Enjoyment
could be made an act of sacrifice. There is a
beautiful verse in the fourth chapter which I
often repeat to myself: —

“Some offer as sacrifice their sense of hear-
ing and other senses in the fires of restraint;
while others offer sound and other objects of
sense in the fires of their senses.” (IV. 26.)

Look at the latter half of this verse. We
are told that our senses are the sacrificial fires
and all objects of sense are the sacrificial
offerings. How far, by the way, are we here
from animal sacrifices! I take it that the
meaning here is the same as that of another
favourite verse of mine in the second chap-
ter : —

46 THE GITA AND CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT

man of disciplined mind who moves
among the objects of sense with his senses fully
under his control and free from love and hate
— he attains to a clear vision.” (II. 6.)

The Gita thus recognises the importance of
the principle of sacrifice in religious life. In
fact sacrifice is the key to all spiritual fife, or,
as the Gita puts it poetically, it is our cow of
plenty, our Kamadhenii, which the Creator
brought into being along with us.

The next group of men whose religious
ideals may be considered in relation to the
teaching of the Gita is that of ascetics^ India
loves an ascetic. The sannyasin who has re-
nounced the world and who subjects himself
to severe penances is a very popular figure in
tliis country. The Gita too in almost every
page insists on the conquest of the senses, on
the discipline of body and mind. But it con-
demns excessive asceticism, as it condemns
excessive ritualism. It distinguishes true tapas
from false tapas and deprecates the latter in
rather severe terms. It says: —

^^Vain and conceited men compelled by the
force of their desires and passions subject
themselves to terrible mortifications not
ordained by scriptures.

‘‘And being foolish they torture their bodily
organs and me also who dwell within the body..

THE GITA AND CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT

47

Know tiiat sucli men are fiendish in their
resolves.” (XVII. 5-6.)

If this is false tapas, what is true tapas? We
have a description of the latter -in the
following verses: —

^‘Tlie worship of the gods, of the twice-
born, of teachers and of the wise; purity,,
uprightness, abstinence and non-violence —
these are said to be the penance of the body..

^‘The utterance of words which do not give
offence and which are truthful, pleasant and
beneficial ^ and the regular recitation of the
Veda — Jhese are said to be the penance of
speech.

‘ ‘ Serenity of mind, beneficence, silence,,
self-control and purity of heart — these are
said to be the penance of the mind.” (XVII.
14-16.)

Again, in the sixth chapter of the Grita
where the author comes very near the technic-
al Yoga practices associated with the name of
Patanjali he prescribes no rigid rules for the
crucifixion of the flesh. On the other hand he
strikes an extraordinarily modern note when
he says: —

^^Yoga is not for him who eats too much, nor
for him who eats too little. It is not for him
who is given to too much sleep nor for him who

48

THE GITA AND CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT

keeps vigils too long. But for the man who
is temperate in his food and recreation, who is
restrained in all his actions and who is regu-
lated in his sleep and vigils, Yoga puts an end
to all sorrows.” (VI. 16-17.)

Thus the Gita follows here, as everywhere,
the golden mean. It recognises that discipline
and renunciation are not ends in themselves,
but are only means to an end.

Next we come to the group of scientists.
The relation of the Gita to the scientific thought
of its day is a very fascinating study, but un-
fortunately it is rather technical in character.
So it is not possible for me in a popular
lecture to go into all the details. I must con-
tent m^^self with a brief indication of the out-
lines, The Gita accepts all that is valuable in
the speculations of the Sankhyas and rejects
their errors. It accepts the concept of Pra-
krit! and the Sankhyan theory of the evo-
lution of the world. It accepts the three
Gunas — Sattva, Rajas and Tamas — the inherent
qualities of Prakriti. It admits like the San-
khyas that the soul is deluded in thinking
that it is the doer, when the forces of Prakriti
are really responsible for every thing that is
done. It also admits that the liberated soul
is free from this delusion and transcends the
three Gunas.

THE GITA AND CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT 4^

But the Grita alters the whole trend of the
Sankhva system by its Upanishadic concept
of Brahman in its two aspects of Nirguna and
8agnna. God, according to the Gita* is not
simply a witness of the evolutions of Nature.
He is the governor and controller of them.
Prakriti is His own. It is His lower manifes-
tation. And the souls of men are His higher
manifestation. Pinally, the liberated soul is
not only free from the thraldom of Prakriti,
but is also in* conscious union with God. Thus
the Gita m^kes use of the Sankhya metaphysics
and psychology in popularizing the Upanisha-
dic revelation. And at the same time it
rejects the atheistic dualism of that system. It
is to be noted therefore that the relation be-
tween tlie Gita and the scientific thought of the
time was a correct and healthy relation.

The skilful way in which the scientific terms
of Sankhya are employed in the Gita to ex-
press the universal religious experience of men
is very well illustrated by its use of the 'words
Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. In the Gita these
words sometimes mean the inherent qualities
of Prakriti as in the Sankhya system. And
sometimes they simply mean first-rate, second-
rate and third-rate. But more often Tamas
means the animal being of man, Rajas his
psychic being, and Sattva his moral and spi-
4

50

THE GtTA AND CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT

ritual being. Therefore if we regard these
three temis simply as the technical scientific
jargon of Saiikhj^a, as some western scholars
are disposed to do, we miss a good deal of the
teaching of the Gita. If, on the other hand,
we regard them as referring to the moral,
mental and physical aspects of man, some of
the verses in which they occur leap into light
and go to the very heart of universal religious
experience.

The next group of men whose relation to
the Gita we have to consider consists of the
polytheists who worship the many gods> of the
Hindu Pantheon. Here again the Gita shows
its wise and tolerant attitude. Worship of
every kind is tolerated and even encouraged.
But the higher way of the worship of the
Isvara, whose imperfect forms are all these
popiihu' gods, is also clearlv shown. The
verses that have to be quoted in this connec-
tion are well known: —

^^Whatevcn- may be the form which each
devotee seeks to worship with faith — I make
his faith steadfast in that form alone.

‘^Possessed of faith he worships that
form and his desires are fulfilled, granted in
fact by me alone.” (VII. 21^22.)

But the Gita does not stop there. The
greatness of the Gita lies in taking up every

THE GITA AND CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT 51

type of religious thought and practice gently
by the hand and showing it the higher way. It
is our own human limitations that are respon-
sible for the various conceptions of ^rod pre-
vailing among ns. All forms of Him from the
highest down to the lowest are imperfect. But
behind them all is the same perfect Reality.
Just as the ocean is one and has the same salt
water throughout, though we have given innu-
merable names to the various seas and
gulfs and bays, so is the ultimate Reality
behind allj:he gods and goddesses of our popu-
lar Himluism. We tolerate the various kinds
of worship obtaining among the masses, but we
stop there. We do not follow the lead of the
Gita and show them the higher way. We make
a false use of the doctrine of Adhikara and
derive specious arguments from it in defence
of our inditference and inaction. What excuse is
there for our not stopping inhuman practices
like animal sacrifices? Certainly we are not
following the lead of the Gita in allowing our
popular religion and popular forms of worship
to drift for themselves and degenerate from
day to day without the consciousness of the
ever present Reality behind them. It is our
sacred duty to stgrive for higher ideals and
purer forms of worship not only in our own
lives but also in the society to which we belong.

52

THE GITA AND CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT

Lastly, we come to tlie group of quietists who
derive inspiration from the Upanishads, but
who think that one should desist from every
kind of activity if one would be saved.What is
the relation of the Gita to these? Well, it may
be said that the whole Gita is one long protest
against this type of thought. The Gita, of
course, accepts the principle of Sannyasa, as it
accepts the principles of Yajna, Karma and
Chaturvarnya, but gives it a higher and a
healthier turn. According to it, Sannyasa is
not renunciation of all work, but it, is the re-
nunciation of all self-centred work. #

‘‘He who does tlie work he ought to do and
does not seek its fruit — he is a Sannyasin and
he is a Yogin, not he who does no work and
maintains no sacred fires.’’ (VI. 1.)

A true Sannyasin takes part in all activities,
but offers them to God in the spirit of a sacri-
licer. To enforce its teaching and bring it home
to us the Gita cites the example of Isvara Him-
self. It asks us — ^Does not God work in the
world? Is not His hand seen behind every acti-
vity of Nature? Does He not make the sun
shine in the day and the moon shed its dew in
the night on every herb? Does He not make
the sap rise in the veins of trees? Does He not
make the fire burn and the creatures breathe?
Does He not enter the minds of men and make

THE GITA AND CONTEMPOEAEY THOUGHT 53

them know, remember and forget! And in do-
ing- all this, is He in any way restless! Has he
any object to gain which He does not possess
already! Is He not eternally quiescent as
Brahman and eternally active as Isvara! Are
not eternal rest and eternal activity mysterious-
ly combined in Him! So should they be in
man. He should act, and yet act not. His
renunciation should be internal, and his acti-
vity external. His mind should be at rest, but
his hands should be ever busy. He should
abide in God, but work in the world to promote
His pifrpose. That is the reply that the Gita
gives to the quietists. That is the secret of
Karma-yoga, and that is the message of this
great scripture.

Thus you see, gentlemen, that the method of
the Gita is the same whether it has to deal with
ritualists or ascetics, with scientists or poly-
theists or quietists. It sympathises with them,
recognises the elements of value in their
thought and practice, but gently points out the
error of their ways, throws light on their limi-
tations and leads them to a bettor and higher
way.

THE GITA AND SVADHARMA.

The Gita strikes an extraordinarily modern
note by its clear and unmistakable recognition
of the influence of natural forces in man’s
organism. Let me quote a few verses in proof
of this statement : —

Every one is driven to act in spite of him-
self by the impulses of Nature.” (III. 5.)

‘‘All beings follow Nature, what can rep-
ression do?” (III. 33.) ♦

“The faith of men is of three kinds. It is
in accordance with their natural disposition.”
(XVII. 2.)

“Fettered by thy own tendencies, O
Arjuna, Avhich are born of thy nature, that
which through delusion thou seekest not to do,
thou shalt do even against thy will.” (XVIII.
60.)

And in the following verse man’s relation
to Nature is contrasted with God’s: —

“Controlling Nature which is My own, I
send forth again and again all this multitude
of beings which are helpless under the sway of
Nature.” (IX. 8.)

It is thus clear that man is a being that
belongs to two worlds — the natural world and

THE GITA AND SVADHARMA

55

the spiritual world. He has a body which
belongs to the former and a soul which
belongs to the latter. Now, the question is,
what should be the relation between the two ?
In other words, are we to encourage the
natural man or suppress him altogether or
utilise him for the purposes of the spirit? No
religion worth the name ever countenances the
first view. It is only some secular systems of
philosophy that make pleasure the end of life.
But these hedonistic systems, as they are call-
ed, are nc4; worth our attention.. Our spiritual
instincts rise in rebellion at once against such
a philosophy. Ninety per cent, of men, no doubt,
act on the hedonistic principle, but when it is
put to them as pliilosophy, they are ashamed
to own it. The opposite extreme of liedonism
is asceticism. Tliis takes for granted that the
natural man is tlie enemy of the spiritual man
and should be suppressed. We must concede
at once that all religions are based on the
ascetic princix^le that the spirit should conquer
the flesh. But in every religion there are
Puritan sects wlio look with suspicion on every
desire of the iiatural man and seek to eradi-
cate it. They glory in the tortnre of the flesh,
they look askance at all forms of art, and are
afraid of beanty. They are Intolerant, narrow-
minded and .priggish. Naturally, therefore,

56

THE iGaTA AND SVADHABMA.

they become the objects of ridicule and satire^
in spite of all their virtues. What the attitude
of the Gita is to this school of thought we saw
yesterday. In one passage, no doubt, it seems
to agree with the ascetics. In the last section
of tlie third chapter, you remember, Arjuna
asks the famous question. ‘‘But what impels
a man to commit sin, O Krishna, in spite of
himself and driven as it were by a force?
The reply is : —

“It is desire, it is wrath which springs from
passion. A monster of greed and •sin — know
it is our enemy here.^^

And the section ends with the words: —
“Therefore know Him who is higher than the
understanding, control the lower self by the
higher self and kill the enemy, O Arjuna, who
comes in the guise of desire and who is hard
to overcome.’’ (III. 37-40.)

Here, as I have said, the Gita seems to agree
with the ascetics who are out for the eradh
^cation of all natural desires. But I submit
this is not the real view of the scripture.
Taking the Gita as a whole, we find that it is
only when Kama or desire leads to sin that it
takes up an uncompromising attitude. For in
a famous verse it identifies Kama when it is
not opposed to Dharma with God Himself.

THE GITA AND SVADHARMA

57

‘‘I am the desire in all creatures, O Arjuiia,
when it is not in conflict with the Law.'' (VII.
11 .)

And you remember that yesterday I quoted
some verses which show^ that the Grita counte-
nances neither extreme indulgence nor extreme
abstinence, but that it is for the golden mean.
According to it the natural man should neither
be encouraged nor suppressed, but wisely
directed. It says: —

^‘Love land hatred are bound to arise to-
wards the objects of each sense. But let no
man ccnne under the sway of these, for they
are his enemies." (III. 34.)

How are we to direct the natural man in us
wisely? This is a problem which every estab-
lished religion has to tackle. The sublimation
of our natural instincts, inclinations and appe-
tites has to be effected satisfactorily by every
religion which has to deal with large masses
of men. The Gita’s solution of the problem is
contained in the word Svadharma. It says: —

^ ^Better one’s own Dharma, though imper-
fectly carried out, than the Dharma of another
carried out perfectly. Better is death in go-
ing by one’s own Dharma. The Dharma of
another is frqught with fear.’’ (III. 35.)

-58 •

THE GITA AND SVADHARMA

It is difficult to translate the word Dharma
into English. There is not a single English
word w^ich can connote all that the Sanskrit
word Dharma cannotes. The Greek word
Arete comes much nearer our Dharma than
any English Avord like virtue or duty or laAV
or righteousness. We may almost say that just
as Arete embraces the whole of Greek liuma-
nism, so Dharma embraces the whole of Hindu
ethics. The Greeks noticed that e\^erything in
this w^orld was capable of an ideal perfection.
This is true not only of things like •a knife or
a clock, but also of liAung beings like a Tiorse or
a bull, and, above all, of man. The best that
man is capable of as man, and not merely as a
sculptor or an athlete, that AAns what the Greek
sages were in search of. That Avas AAhat
they called the Arete of man. It wall be seen
at once that Arete is not a static or a narroAv
conception. The ideal groAvs AAuth the groAv-
ing man. For who can set limits to the groAvth
of human perfection? Nor is Arete the same
for every indiAudual. It depends upon the
peculiar endowments of each indiAudual and
the circumstances in AAhich he is placed.
Therefore Arete has an indiAudiial as well as a
universal aspect. Similarly we have Dharma
Avhich is universal and SAmdharma which is
individual. It is only through the sublimation

THE GITA AND SVADHARMA

59

of the individual that the universal could be
gained. We cannot, of course, jump out of our-
selves. But we can infinitely expand ourselves
through imagination, love, and sympathy. We
have first of all to be true ourselves, ‘to the law
of our own being. We have to achieve the best
we are capable of by perfecting our natural
endowments and by making the most of our
circumstances. And this ideal perfection of
the individual is to be made subservient to a
divine purpose. It is exactly here, by the way,
that the Clreeks failed. Their AreAe, in spite
of its Atonderful vitality and expansive poAver,
was purely human. It had no reference to God
or to a diAune purpose in the universe. Where-
as in India, Dharma Avas never purely human.
It was ncA^er divorced from Yoga or union
with the Divine. In fact it aahs considered the
Avay to that union. It had iieA^er any value
independent of that end. That is AA"hy proba-
bly Hindu culture still maintains its ground,
Avhile the Greeks and their civilization have
passed a way.

Noav, coming back to the subject of Sva-
dharma, aa^c have to note carefully that the
author of the Gita explicitly connects it not
merely Avith the caste system but Avith the indi-
vidual ^s OAAm SA^abhava or nature. The Averse
about SAm dharma Avhich I haA^e already quoted

60

THE GITA AND SVADHABMA

is repeated in the final chapter of the Grita
with a very significant variation, who

does the duty imposed on him by his own
nature incurs no sin.’^ (XVIII. 47.)

Thus the Gita connects Svadharma with
Svabhava. That is, our natural gifts have to
be fully developed and utilized for the service
of God. Nature is to be regarded not as the
enemy of the spirit, but as its great ally. It
is not to be suppressed, but wisely directed.
The advantages of such a line of action are
many. Firstly, Svadharma connotes ease and
spontaneity. It is the line of least resistance.
According to the teaching of the Gita, an action
which is not done with perfect ease is not the
best, and an action which is beyond one’s capa-
city and which is undertaken through igno«
ranee and without regard to consequences is
the worst. In the eighteenth chapter the scrip-
ture divides all actions into three classes and
labels them Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Under
the first class come those actions which are
organically related to one’s own nature, under
the second those which involve great strain and
under the third those which are undertaken
without regard to one’s capacity. The Gita
view is that we should perform our duties as a
tree performs its duty of producing flower and
fruit — with perfect ease and spontaneity, in

THE GITA AKD SVADHARMA , 61

silence and sublime unconsciousness. Marcus
Aurelius comes very near this view-point when
he says in his meditations: —

^‘As a horse when he has run, a dog when he
has caught the game, a bee when it has made
its honey, so a man when he has done a good
act, does not call out for others to come and
see, bat he goes on to another act, as a vine
goes on to produce again the grapes in season.”

Again, ^^What more dost thou want when
thou hast done a man a service? Art thou not
content that thou hast done something confor-
mable yj thy ]iature and dost thou seek to be
paid fo]- it, just as if the eye demanded a re-
compense for seeing or the feet for walking?”

Thus the gospel of Svadharma demands that
man should play his part in the S|)iritual world
consciously and voluntarily as birds and beasts
and trees play their part in the natural world
unconsciously and involuntainly. He must
recognise his essential nature and take to the
spirit as fish to water and learn to live in it as
in his own natural element.

Secondly, Svadharma connotes not only ease
and spontaneity, but also efficiency. When our
duties are organically related to our natural
endowments they could be most efficiently dis-
charged, whereas when they are forced on us
they go against the grain and are very ineffi-

62

THE GITA AND SVADHARMA

ciently discharged. Therefore an ideal society
is one in which all men are assigned duties
which they are most fitted to discharge, in
which every man’s Svadharma is based on his
Svabhava. The system of four castes con-
ceived by the Indian sages and to which India
tried to conform throughout her chequered
history was one such ideal society. And it is
to that ideal pattern that the Gita refers in
two places — in the fourth and eighteenth
chapters. As the Gita’s attitude to the caste
system is often given a somewhat narrow inter-
pretation, let us carefully examine theye pas-
sages.

If we examine the context in the fourth chap-
ter, Ave find that the reference to the caste
system is made only incidentally as an illus-
tration of the general principle contained in the
verse : —

‘^He who knows my divine birth and works
Avill never be born again when he leaves his
body, but will come to me, O. Arjuna”. (IV. 9.)

What is the mystery of the diAune incarnation
and of divine action? Briefly it is this. Though
He is unborn, He takes birth. Though He is
actionless, He acts. God is the Absolute. He
is unborn. Yet He is born from age to age,
when the needs of the Avorld require Him. That
is the mystery of the Avatar. Again, as

THE GITA AND SVADHARMA

63

Braliman He is quiescent, changeless and trans-
cending’ time. But as Isvara He is active.

He is tlie creator within the frame-work of

0

Time. It is to illnstrate this last statement
that the caste system is brought in in that oft -
quoted verse: —

''The system of four castes was created by
me, according to the division of aptitudes and
Avorks. Though I am their creator, know thou
that I neither act nor change.” (IV. 13.)

Tlie second half of the verse is the primary
thing, the first half is secondary. The object
of the Averse, as judged by the context, is not to
expound the principles of the caste-system, but
to expound the mystery or the paradox of divine
action — that He acts and yet He acts not. The
Teacher might liaA^e taken anything in the
Avorld to illustrate his thesis, for CAXu^ything
in the Avorld is God-made. HoAveA^er, eA^en in a
casual reference like this, he shows his insight
into the principles that should underlie an ideal
society. The hint he gwes us in the phrase
"according to the division of aptitudes and
Avorks” is expanded in the eighteenth chapter.
And in what context is it done? There his
thesis is the force of Nature in man.

‘‘There is no creature here on earth, nor
again among the gods in heaA^en, which is free

^4 , the GITA AND SVADHARMA

from these three dispositioDS of Nature.’^

(XVIII. 40. )

It is to illustrate this principle — the force of
Svabhava — that the caste system is again
brought in. The Gita now deliberately con-
nects the external occupations of the four
castes with the internal aptitudes of men and
ends with the famous verse: —

‘‘Man reaches perfection by devotion to his
own duty or profession.” (XVIII. 45.)

In this connection I cannot do better than
quote a paragraph from the Essays on the
Gita by Aurobindo Ghose: —

“The Gita accepted the Vedic theory of
sacrifice, but gave it a profound turn, an inner,
subjective and universal meaning, a spiritual
sense and direction whicli alters all its values.
Here too, and in the same way, it accepts the
theory of the four orders of men, but gives to
it a profound turn, an inner, subjective and
universal meaning, a spiritual sense and direc-
tion. What the Gita is concerned with is not
the validity of the Aryan social order now
abolished or in a state of deliquescence, but
the relation of man’s outward life to his
inward being, the evolution of his action from
his soul and inner law of nature.”

These words are profoundly true. The
<?aste system in our religious literature has

THE GITA AND SVADHARMA

65

always been only an ideal. As far as historical
records go, there have never been the four
clear-cnt divisions of Indian society postu-
lated in our sacred books. The Indian sages'
meant by the caste system an ideal society in
which every man^s position would be organi--
cally related to his aptitudes. At any rate,
that seems to be the view of the author of the
Gita.

Finally, Pvadharma connotes not only ease,
spontaneity and efficiency, but also grace and
beauty. S^or what is beauty but the blissful
perfection which all created things attain when
they are true to the law of their own being?
The most beautiful rose is that which most
nearly approaches the ideal pattern of a rose,
the most beautiful horse is that which most
nearly exhibits all the parts and functions of
an ideal horse. The vine which produces
grapes in their season, therefore, displays not
only spontaneity and efficiency, but also beauty.
Similarly all men and women, when they are
following their own Arete or Svadharma, have*
an inimitable grace which will arrest the atten-
tion of an artist. On the other hand, when
they are not true to themselves, when they^
go against the law of their being, as when
women try to be manly, or when Indians ape
Europeans, or vice versa, they make them-
5

66

THE aiTA AND SVADHABMA

selves only ridiculous. In a word, all affecta-
tion or pose is ugliness and is contrary to
the principle of Svadharma.

' Gentlemen, I have done. I hope I have said
enough to show that the Gita doctrine of Sva-
dharma does not merely mean, in the words of
Aurobindo Ghose, that the sons of washermen
should do nothing but wash clothes for all
time, that the sons of shoe-makers should do
nothing but make shoes for all time, as some
commentators would have us believe. No. The
Bhagavad Gita goes much deeper than that.
It recognises the force of natural disposition
in man and teaches that every man should
first be true to himself and should make the
best of his natural gifts and utilise them for
the service of God. If he does this, he will
achieve for himself and the society in which he
lives, efficiency, freedom, harmony and beauty.
That, I take it, is the essence of Svadharma.

THE GITA AND PROGRESS.

One of the charges levelled against
Hinduism by its Western critics is that it is
too other-worldly, that it teaches men to turn
away from this world and its problems, to cul-
tivate a spirit of monkish piety and care only
for thei^ own salvation. We all know that this
is a false charge based on an imperfect know^
ledge of our religion. But the question we have
•specifically to ask ourselves to-day is — ‘What
does the Gita say on this point! Is its teach-
ing confined to the subject of individual salva-
tion! Has it no thought for society!’’ The
question is very important for all those who
want to use the Gita as a guide in everyday
practical life. And I cannot too often urge
that we should use this scripture not as a text-
book of philosophy or theology, but as a prac-
tical gospel enabling us to live the good life.

It may be remarked at once that the very
form of the Gita and the context in which it
occurs, apart from its contents, are a repudi-
ation of the charge mentioned above. For, we
have only to ask ourselves — Wliat is all this

68

THE GITA AND PROGRESS

dialogue for? What is the object of the divine
interlocutor? Is it not to make Arjuna do his
duty to society as a Kshatriya prince ? Is it not
to make the world safe from tyranny and evil
rule? As a matter of fact we know that Arjuna
wanted to flee from the world and save his own
soul in isolation from it. He wanted to retire
from the field of battle and its conflict of duties,
and seek refuge in religious mendicancy. But
he was prevented from taking such a futile
course by his charioteer and friend. And who
is this charioteer and friend? Is He not
Isvara Himself in human form, the purpose of
whose incarnation, according to the Gita, is to
set right the world when it goes wrong and to
re-establish Dharma or the rule of righteous-
ness?

The very concept of Dharma which is so
characteristic of Hinduism is a standing refu-
tation of the argument that Hindu spirituality
is indifferent to social problems. Dharma is
so called because it maintains the social order.
Every Hindu is enjoined to be faithful to his
own Svadharma so that the harmony of the
society may be preserved. It has been well
remarked that Dharma is the earthly counter-
part of Moksha. If the latter is the kingdom
of God, the former is the kingdom of God on
earth. And, according to the Hindu view of

THE GITA AND PROGRESS

69

life which is embodied in the formula of Puru-
sharthas, Dharma is the framework within
which Artha (wealth) and Kama (desire) have
to operate. In other words, we are free to
acquire possessions and gratify our desires
within the limits set by the moral law. Accord-
ingly we have Artha-Sastra and Kama-Sastra,
as well as Dharma-Sastra. In fact we have a
Sastra for every department of secular know-
ledge. We have scientific treatises on fine arts,
on medicine, on archery, on horsemanship, on
the catching and training of elephants and so
on. Te accuse the culture of a nation which
has produced all these secular Sastras and
which has above all built up the edifice of
Varna-asrama-dharma of being anti-social or
other-worldly is only ridiculous.

We may go even a step further and say that
the Hindu thinkers had a much wider concep-
tion of society and a more penetrating vision
of the evolving universe than their critics. For
society, according to them, includes not only
living men but also those who have gone before
them and those who will come after them, all
beings above them like the gods and all beings
below them like animals and plants. Through
the ceremony of the five great sacrifices which
a householder was enjoined to perform, they
taught that a .man owed a duty not only to his

,70 THE GITA AND PROGRESS

neighbours but also to his ancestors, to his
descendants and to all living beings higher and
lower than himseK. Thus they had a more
organic^ conception of society than their critics
of the present day. It will be seen that theirs
was a conception which was not limited by
space or time. Nor was it confined to man-
kind as the Christian conception is.

Again, they seem to have clearly seen that
there was one universal purpose running
through all creation — namely, the return of
the divided Spirit to its original ^^holeness.
To them the universe is one vast fiel(^ where
spirit is ever in conflict with matter,
Atman with Anatman on various levels of
being and with varying degrees of success.
Their idea of the spiritual evolution of the
world is well expressed in the Taittiriya-XJpa-
nishad in the conversation between Bhrigu and
his father Varuna. From matter to life, from
life to consciousness, from the consciousness of
animals to the self-consciousness of man, and
from the self-consciousness of man to the uni-
versal consciousness of God — the path of
progress is discernible in the very structure of
creation. Only with the appearance of man,
who is a free agent, we have the beginnings of
a conscious purpose, and consequently further
progress is not automatic along a straight line,

TBE GITA AND PROGRESS

71

but takes devious ways and has frequent back-
slidings.

According to this vision of the universe, the
Hindu thinkers looked upon all progress in
human history as an aspect or a phase of the
progress seen in the order of creation. That
is, it has to be judged according to the degree
of the conquest of spirit over matter. It
has to be tested by a standard of spiritual
values. Accordingly the question they ask is
— HIow far has this particular age or nation
or civilization progressed in the kingdom of
God?’ Or, as they picturesquely put it, does
the cow of Dharma walk on one leg or two
legs or three legs or four legs? The writers
of our Puranas saw in their day some of the
back-slidings of the spirit and imagined that
worse would follow, and accordingly they
spoke of the four yiigas or ages, placing the
golden period of moral perfection in the re-
mote past. One may question their facts.
But their standards are unquestionable. The
Hindu thinkers were never carried away by
the material prosperity or the scientific skill or
the power of organisation of the civilizations
of their day. The contrast which Valmiki
and Vyasa have drawn in their epics between
the kingdom .of Havana and the kingdom of

72

THE OITA AND PROGRESS

llama} between the rule of Duryodhana and
the rule of Yudhisthira, shows what criteria
they em.ployed in judging of civilizations and
what their judgment on modern European
civilization would be.

It is interesting to observe that the Hindu
thinkers and nation-builders tried to project
the lines of progress that they discovered in
the cosmic process and found reflected in
human history into their own ideal scheme of
society and their ideal pattern of ^indiv^idual
life. According to them, in every ideal .society
or state those who develop the highest values
of the spirit have to occupy the highest place
and those who are blind to those values should
occupy the lowest. The function of each class
should depend upon the degree of its moral
and spiritual development. It is more a ques-
tion of elder and younger than of superior
and inferior. The elder orother in a family
has, no doubt, greater freedom, but he has also
greater responsibilities and more onerons
duties and is judged by more severe standards,
while the younger ones lead a sheltered life and
are affectionately taken care of and earefull'^
educated. Apparently the dream of the Indian
saffes who organised the caste system was to
make the whole nation a joint family embody-

THE GITA and PROGRESS

7a

ing the principle of spiritual progress. We all
know how far that dream has come true. Un-
fortunately human materials could • not be
easily shaped according to an ideal pattern,
there were more factors that determined the
moral worth of a man than mere heredity or
training, and, above all, India was not the
world. Hence the complicated relations that
existed in actuality between the various castes
and the innamerable sub-castes could not be
represented by a simple diagram of four hori-
zontal •straight lines any more than the compli-
cated relations of the various dialects of Pra-
krit could be represented by a neat genealogical
table. Nor, of course, as a matter of fact did the
moral and spiritual development of men corres-
pond always to their place in the social
hierarchy. Nor, again, could an ideal system of
society, conceived exclusively as part of one
religion and in accordance with the conditions
obtaining in one country and one epoch, main-
tain its ground for all time. The Indian caste
system in its present form is bound to dis-
appear, as the Holy Roman empire has dis-
appeared, and as the theocracies of Israel and
Islam have disappeared. But my point here
is that the Hindu sages did conceive of a king-
dom of God .on earth, however inadequate or

74

THE GITA AND PROGRESS

unsatisfactory that conception might have been,,
that they did not teach people to run away
from the world to save their ovti souls, bnt
that on*^ the contrary they denounced Buddh-
ism as an anti-social he^’esy when it began to
teach such a doctrine.

Again, in accordance with the increasing
purpose which they discovered in Nature and
in history and which they tried to enforce in the
organisation of the society, they prescribed a
graded discipline for the individual.^ The four
asramas with their progressive freedt^m and
emancipation of the spirit correspond to the
four varnas, the four i^igas and the four puru-
sharthas. A man has to qualify himself duly
for the final stage of untrammelled contempla-
tive life by a strenuous life of action during
which he has to discharge the debt he owes to
society. And Sannyasa never meant a cessation
of the activities which are calculated to do good
to society. For instance, there could not be a
greater sannyasin than Sankara, and yet there
was not a greater man of action working for
the good of the society during his age. He
travelled all over the country at a time when
travel was not at all easy or safe, taught inces-
sautly, wrote his famous commentaries, track-
ed down heresies and organised. mutts at the

THE GITA AND PROGRESS

7d

vital centres of the land for the purpose of
disseminating sound doctrine.

Thus the edifice of ancient Hind^ civili-
zation was all carved out of a single rock. The
momentous discovery of the Upanishads that
the human spirit is essentially divine and
should be ultimately free is the inner sanctuary
— the Garbha Griha — round which all the
other apartments of ethics, politics, science
and ajt were constructed. And all progress
was progress from the outer to the inner. It
was ahvafs measured in terms of the supre-
macy of spirit over matter, of knowledge over
ignorance, of freedom over bondage.

I think, gentlemen, I have said enough to
dispose of the false charge against Hinduism
that it teaches only individual salvation and
takes no thought of social progress. Let us
now come to the teaching of the Gita. Pro-
bably we are now in a better position to under-
stand its view of progress, as we have survey-
ed the background of tradition against which
it is set. I have already said that the very
form of the Gita and the context out of which
it arose, apart from its contents, show that it
is the well-being of society that the author
had in his mind more than the well-being of the
individual. Now if we glance at the contents

76

THE GITA AND PROGRESS

also from the standpoint of social ethics, we
shall find that the Gita not only emphasises
the importance of social well-being but also
indicates the right lines of progress. The
Karma-yoga that it advocates may be consi-
dered to have three aspects. For disinterest-
ed action may be looked upon, firstly, as a
means to Atma-suddhi or self-purification.

The Gita says : —

‘‘With the body, with the mind, with the
understanding and with the senses alone, men
of selfless actions do their work without jattach-
ment for the purification of their souU/^ (V.
11 .)

Secondly, it may be looked upon as the
instrument of Lokasangraha or the mainte-
nance of society.

“As ignorant men act from attachment to
their work, 0 Arjuna, so too should an enlight-
ened man act, but vdthout any attachment, so
that he may maintain the order of the world/^
(III. 25.)*

Thirdly, it may be looked upon as service to
God

“Whatsoever thou doest, whatsoever thou
eatest, whatsoever thou offerest, whatsoever
thou givest away and whatsoever of austeri-

THE GITA AND PROGRESS

77

ties thou dost practise- — do that as an offering
to me.’^ (IX. 27.)

It should be remembered that it is in enforc-
ing the second of these three points of view
that the Gita cites the example of Isvara and
mentions the unceasing activity of His divine
providence in the world and thus makes an ori-
ginal and characteristic contribution to the
whole subject. For the Bhagavan says: —

“There is nothing in the three worlds, O
Arjuna, for rue to achieve, nor is there any-
thing to ^ain Avhich I have not already. Yet I
continue to work.

“For, if I did not continue to work un-
wearied, O Arjuna, men all around would
follow my path.

“If I should cease to work, these worlds
would perish, and I should cause confusion and
destroy these people.’’ (III. 22-24.)

In fact, it is remarkable how the Gita even
in its highest flights of description of the rap-
ture of the saints never fails to mention the
care for all creatures as an inalienable ele-
ment in it. Take, for instance, the famous
passage (VI. 19-28) describing Dhyana-yoga
which begins with the verse: —

“As a lamp in a place sheltered from the
wind doth not flicker — ”. It describes the in-

78

THE GITA AND PROGRESS

tense concentration of the Yogin’s mind on the
Absohrte and the infinite joy of union which
he experiences. But it is immediately follow-
ed hy the verse: —

“Steadfast in Yoga he sees himself in all
beings and all beings in himself — he sees the
same in all.” (VI. 29.)

And the whole section ends with the verse : —
“He who looks upon all as himself in pleasure
and in pain — he is considered, O Arjuna, as the
perfect Yogin.”

Or take the three verses (V. 24-26) in the
fifth chapter describing Brahma-Nirvana or
the beatitude of God. The second of these runs
thus : —

“Those whose sins are destroyed and whose
doubts are removed, whose minds are dis-
ciplined and Avho are engaged in doing good to
all beings — such holy men attain to the beati-
tude of God.”

Again, in chapter XII describing those who
fix their minds, not on the personal Isvara, but
on the impersonal and unqualified Brahman,
the Teacher says: —

“But those who worship the imperishable,
the ineffable, the unmanifested, the omnipre-
sent, the incomprehensible, the unchanging
and the eternal —

THE GITA AND PROGRESS

79

‘‘Having subdued all their senses and be-
ing of even mind under all conditions and en-
rjaged in the good of all beings — they come to
me indeed.” (XIL 3-4.)

And, lastly, in chapter XVI where men of
evil nature are denounced in scathing terms,
we find that the cause of the divine indignation
partly is that the evil-doer not only destroys
his own soul but also destroys the world-order.
For the Bhagavan says: —

“Holding this view, these lost souls of small
understanding who commit evil deeds come
forth as enemies for the destruction of the
world.” (XVL 9.)

I need not labour the point any further. The
whole message of the Gita is, as you all know,
that a man should remain in the world
but without any attachment to it and work
there as the servant of God for the welfare of
society as well as for the highest good of
his own soul. Neither Karma-yoga nor
Bhakti-yoga, nor Jnana-yoga, as taught in
this scripture, is ever divested of the social
aspect of spiritual life.

Then coming to the question of social prog-
ress, as distinct from social well-being, we have
to ask ourselves— V7h at is the attitude of the
Gita? Does it look ahead? Or does it simply

80

THE GITA AND PBOGEESS

look back? Does it look upon tradition as
something wholly divine and hence unchange-
'able? Or does it look upon it as wholly
human and hence totally dispensable? In a
word, what is the path of progress according
to the Gita?

Swami Vivekananda once said that the path
of progress in India lay between the Scylla
of old orthodoxy and the Charybdis of
modem European civilization. Yon know
that according to Greek mythology the former
was a monster and the latter a whirlpool set
in the narrow strait between Italy and Sicily,
so that the sailors who tried to avoid the
monster ran the risk of being engulfed in the
whirlpool. Swami Vivekananda ’s complaint
against what he called old orthodox^^ was that
it was not Hinduism but dont’t-touchism, that
is, it worships its own cooking-pot as a god and
erects impassable barriers between class and
class, and sect and sect. He saw with a pro-
phetic eye that the problem of un touch ability
was the most urgent problem facing modern
India. And he was roused to fury at the atti-
tude of some of the orthodox to this problem
and their indifference to the dangers surround-
ing a disunited Hinduism. But the Swami also
saw that the reformer who in his zeal for the

'■rUE GiTA AND FROGREh'S

81

remuvai oi luiloucliability and tlie o^tablisii-
iiiFiit Gi social solidarity tried to get away
iron) tlie monster oi' old orthodoxy was likely
to i'al] into the whirlpool oi* modern l!uropeaii
'^hvihzalio)!, wiiose guiding princp^le accord-
ing to iiim is insatiable greed. We at the
])res(nit day are in a b(dt(‘r position to see the
appro])riateness oi the comparison of Euro-
pean civilization to a whirlpool. For, Europe
is now in a whirl])ool. The; great war of 1914,
the 1 ‘ecent Italo-Abyssiiiian war, the civil
wai* in S|:i^nn, t}n‘ doiiigs (»f men in higli places
i)i ]An>*^ia and (irermany liavc* o])(‘ned our eyes.
We liave now lost onr admii'ation for Euro-
})ea]j (n'viiizalion which we liad in the nine-
t(^entli ccntni'y and a7*e begimiing to ask onr-
se]v(^s: — Whv lias this civilization come to this
pass in s])it(^' of its Christianity, in spite of its
code of cliivaliy and in spit(^ of its humanitari-
an zeal and its ideals of social service? Swami
Vivekmianda would answei* tliat it was because
'Western nations have made worldly happiness
a primary thing and religion a secondary tiling.
IVlnni ])eople come to think that mateiaal
prosperity, colonial expansion and the capture
of markets nro’ more important thmi the con-
quest of the self and the deepoTiiiig of the spi-
I'it. what rdse do ymu expect?

82

a?HE GITA AND PROGRESS

It is the other way about in India. With us
religion no doubt is still a primary thing. But
is it a live religion? Does it make for pro-
gress? Or is it only a blind ancestor-worship?
It is interesting to note that Swami Viveka-
nanda, when he compared our old orthodoxy
to the monster Scylla and the modern Euro-
pean civilization to the whirlpool Charybdis,
said that, if the choice lay between these two
only, he would unhesitatingly prefer the
former. For, the old orthodox man, in spite of
his blindness and crudeness, is a man. Ho has
faith, he has strength and he stands on' his own
legs. He is true to his national Svadharma.
'To him religion is primary and all else second-
ary, and so he is a true child of India. Only
his religion is more a stagnant pool than a
flowing stream. For he worships the letter
of the law and kills the spirit. But on the
other hand, the Europeanized Indian, accord-
ing to Swami Vivekananda, is not a man. He
is only a confused jumble of ideas. There is
no organised unity about his mind. He glibly
mouths a few catchwords and slavishly
follows his European masters. He does not
think for himself. The Swami rmints out that
it is not by senseless borrowing, but by wise
assimilation, that a nation could grow, especi-

THE GITA AND PROGRESS

83

ally, a nation with an iiimiemorial tradition.

Gentlemen, I have dwelt at some length on the
attitude of this great modern ap^)stle of
Hinduism to the problem of progress, because,
in my opinion, it is substantially the same as
that of the Gita. The Gita too has no patience
with the old orthodox ritualists of its day,
whose religion was little more than a mecha-
nical observance of rites and ceremonies. Its
language, you remember, is rather startling; —
Fools who rejoice in the letter of the
Veda sa5', ^ There is nothing else but this.’
Their souls are ridden with desires and they
long for a Paradise. They quote florid texts
that give out rebirth as the reward of rituals
and lay down various ceremonies for the
acquisition of wealth and power. Therefore,
those that are attracted to pleasure and power
are carried away by these words and have not
the resolute will of a steadfast mind.” (II. 42-
43.)

But the Gita denounces with greater indig-
nation those who set aside the scriptures alto-
gether and become a law unto themselves. To
(Jec^eribe their ideology, it makes them think
aloud in the sixteenth chapter in these words,
which we might imagine a Hitler or a Musso-
lini as uttering: —

THE GITA AND PROGRESS

84 '

^This 1 have gained to-day, and that long-
ing will I fulhll. Tills wealth is mine liereafter.

^Thm foe 1 have slain and others too 1
will slay. I am the lord of all and 1 enjoy
myself. I am prosperous, mighty and liappy.

am rich and of high birth. Who is
there like unto me! I will perform sacrifices,
I will give alms, I will rejoice.'’ Thus are
they deluded by ignorance.''’ (XVI. 13-15.)

And the whole passage ends with the two
oft-quoted verses: —

^‘But he who discards the scriptural Taw and
acts as his desires prompt him — he attains
neither perfection, nor happiness nor the high-
est state.

^‘Therefore, let the scripture be tliy autho-
rity in determining v/hat ought to he done and
what ought not to be done. Knowing the scrip-
tural law, thou shouldst do thy work in this
world.” (XVT. 23-24.)

It is well known that the Gita is quoted both
by the conservative and by the revolutionary.
Its sacred verses are equally on the lips of
those who are heading towards Scylla and of
those who are heading towards Charybdis.
Such a thing becomes possible only because
the verses are torn by each party from their

THE GITA AND PROGRESS

85

context and are interpreted independently of
the otlier verses and of the whole trend of the
Gita. ’riie contradiction between the verses
quoted l)y those who advocate authority and
by those who advocate freedom is only appa-
rent. The Gita advises us to go to scriptures
foi* guidance, but warns us against following
th(‘ Jett(‘r instead of tin* s])irit. It includes
the study of the Veda in its list df virtues, but
says tliat tlie vision of God cannot be gained
either by tlie study of the Veda or by penan-
ces or t^ifts, but only by exclusive devotion
to Him. In otJier words, it does justice both to
the authority of religious tradition and to the
inherent sovereignty of the soul. And this
part of its teaching is obviously in a line with
its general teaching. For the Gita teaches
us lliat harsh asceticism is not the way to
freedom from the thraldom of the flesh.
It teaches us that hasty renunciation is not
th(‘ way to frex^doni from the bonds of the
world. Similarly, it teaches us here that arro-
gant non-conformity is not the way to free-
dom from the rule of tradition and custom.
Freedom from the institutions of the past has
to be gained in the same way as freedom from
the flesh and freedom from the world — that is,
bv obedience and transcendence and not by

86

THE OITA AND PROGRESS

rebellion and non-conformity. And the divine
author of the Gita teaches us that tliis is the
right pistil of ijrogress towards freedom, both
by i^recept and example. For how has
he himself dealt with the revelation of the
Upanishads in his own gospel f lie has not only
absorbed it thoroughly but also extended its
scope in such a way as tactically to recreate
it according to the needs of his age. If we
follow his lead and understand the s})irit of
his message as a whole, I think we can avoid
both the Scylla of old ortliodoxy and the
Charybdis of modern (‘ivilization.

Gentlemen, 1 have done. But, before we part,
let us once more be clear in our minds as to
what we mean by x>i'ogress and what we think
is the way to it according to the highest teach-
ing of our scriptures and the noblest exam-
ple of our teachers. With us progress is the
process of the perfection of Bharma. And the
perfection of Dhanna implies both the perfec-
tion of the individual and the i^erfoction of
society. In fact, we cannot have the one with-
out the other. They both act and react on
each other. Therefore, we believe that nations
and their civilizations have to be judged ulti-
mately by the same standards as individuals
and their characters. We cannot have one set

THE GITA AND PROGRESS

87

of values for the citizen and another set of
values for the state. We cannot liave one
conscience for private life and #aiiother
^'onscitnce for public life, li the progress of
the individual is to be measured in spiritual
terms, such as righteousness, truth, and
beauty, the progress of nations also has to be
measured in the same spiritual terms and not,
as is usually done, in the lower biological
terms of stiength, vitality and appetite. Let
us cling to this faith of ours all the more tena-
ciously a# present when several nations seem
to be going mad — mad with jealousy, mad
with hatred and mad with greed. Let us
remind ourselves that, as in Nature all prog-
ress is from the lower to the higliei* forms of
life, so also in society all true progress is from
the lower to the higher values of life. And
again, as in Nature so also in society general-
ly, the path of progress lies neither through
the pool of stagnation nor through the whirl-
pool of revolution. And, above all, let us not
forget that in the Bhagavad Crita we have a
great world-scripture which, combining in a
higher synthesis the passivism of the Bast and
the acti^usm of the West, has shown us the right
kind of action which will lead individuals and
nations along the eternal path of spiritnal

88

THE GITA AND PROGRESS

progress. And the goal set before us is peace,
harmony and the highest happiness, not <»nly
for theiiiidhddual but also for humanity at
large.

APPENDIX I.

GITA: THP] UNIVERSAL MOTHER.

By Mahatma Gtandhi

The following is the rendering into Eiigiisli
of a Hindi speecli that Gandliiji delivered at
Benares to students : —

Early in my childhood I had felt the need of
a Seiipture that would serve me as an unfail-
ing guide ^lirough the trials and temptations
of lif(L • The Vedas could not supply that need,
if onl}' because to learn them would require
fifteen to sixteen yeai*s of hard study at a
place like Kashi, for which I was not ready
then. But the Gita, I had read somewhere,
gave within the compass of its 700 verses the
quintessence of all the Sastras and the Upa-
nishads. That decided me. I learnt Sanskrit
to enable me to read the Grita. To-day the
Gita is not only my Bible or my Koran; it is
more than that — ^^it is my mother. I lost my
earthly mother, who gave me birth long ago;
but this eternal mother has completely filled
her place by my side ever since. She has never
changed, she has never failed me. When I am
in difficulty or distress, I seek refuge in her
bosom.

GITA: THE UNIVERSAL MOTHER

SO

It is sometimes alleged against tlie Grita that
it is too difficult a Avork for the man in the
street. The criticism, I venture to submit, is
ill-founded. The Gita enabled the late Loka-
manya, out of his encyclo23cedic learning and
study, to produce a monumental commentary.
For him it was a store-house of profound
truths to exercise liis intellect upon. But that
need not scare aAvay a lay reader. If you
find all the eighteen chapt(M*s too difficult to
negotiate, make a careful study of the first
three chapters only. They will giA^e yon in a
nutshell Avhat is i>ropounded in greater detail
and from different angles in tlie remaining
fifteen chapters.

Even these three (diapters can be further
epitomised in a feAV verses that can be selected
from these chapters. Add to t])is the fact
that at three distiind places the Gita goes e\^en
further and exhorts us t^^ leaAx^ all ‘isms’ and
take refuge in the Lord alone, and it Avill be
seen how baseless is the charge that the mes-
sage of the Gita is too subtle or comidicated
for lay minds to understand.

The Gita is the uniAmrsal mother. She
turns away nobody. Her door is wide open to
any one who knocks. A true votary of the
Gita does not knoAv A\diat disappointment is. He
ever dwells in perennial joy and peace that

GITA: THE UNIVERSAL. MOTHER

•91

passeth understanding. But that peace and
joy come not to the sceptic or to him who is
proud of his intellect or learning. It reser-
ved only for the humble in spirit who brings to
her worship a fullness of faith and an undivid-
ed singleness of mind. There never was a
man who worshipped her in that spirit and
went back disappointed.

Our students are prone to be upset by trifles.
A trivial thing like failure in an examination
plunges them into the darkest despair. The
Gita inciilmtes in them the duty of perseve-
rance ill the face of seeming failure. It teaches
us that we have a right to actions only, but not
to the fruit thereof, and that success and
failure are one and the same thing at
bottom. It calls upon us to dedicate ourselves,
body, mind and soul, to pure duty, and not to
become mental voluptuaries at the mercy of
all chance desires and undisciplined impulses.
As a ‘^Satyagrahi,’ I can declare that the Gita
is ever X3resenting me with fresh lessons. If
somebody tells me that this is my delusion,
my reply to him would be that I shall hug this
delusion as my richest treasure.

I would advise the students to begin their
day with an early morning recitation of the
Gita. I am a lover and devotee of Tulasidas.
I adore the great spirit that gave to an aching

92

GITA: THE UNIVEESAL MOTHER

world the all-healing ‘mantra’ of ‘Eama-
nama.’ But I am here to-day, not to present
Tulasid,as to you, but to ask you to take up the
study of the Gita, not in a carping or critical
spirit, but in a devout and reverent spirit.
Thus approached, she will grant you every
wish. Once you have tasted of its sweet nectar,
your attachment to it will grow from day to
day. The recitation of the Gita verses will
support you in your trials and console you in
your distress, even in the darkness of solitary
confinement. And if, with these verses on
your lips, you i-eceive the final summons and
deliver up your spirit, you will attain
Brahma-Nirvana — the Final Liberation.
What that blessed state is — I leave it for your
learned Acharyas to explain to yon.

ti_gita: the celestial fruit.

Bij Lol'Ximaiiijd Bala Gangadhara Tilak, •

In the literature of the whole world there is
no book like the Gita. It is a most luminous
and priceless gem. It gives peace to afflicted
souls, it makes us masters of spiritual wisdom.
In sho^t, 111 all the languages of the world
there is not a single book like the Gita which
can ac([uaint us so well with tlie hidden truths
of all the ages.

The Gita takes us to the supreme Bliss, and
it makes no distinction of class, order,
country, sex, creed or community. It bears
the attitude of toleration towards other books
of religion, and beautifully harmonises the
philosophy of Actii^n, Devotion and Knowledge,
It can easily be said to be an immortal fruit of
the t}‘ee of the Eternal Vedic Religion.

Tlio^e who are keen about the fundamentals
of Hindu rdigion and polity must make it
a point to go through this unsurpassed and
wonderful book, because it clearly expounds
the cardinal .principles of Hindu religion.

94

GITA: THE CELESTIAL FRUIT

When our Scriptures had finally thought over
the problems of the perishable and the imperish-
able a^spects of the world, and of the Field
(Kshetra) and the Knower of the Field (Kshet-
ragna) through the philosophy of Yoga, San-
khya, Nyaya, Mimamsa, and Vedanta, the Gita
made a clear improvement in enunciating a
philosophy of Karma based on Jnana and
supported by Bhakti. Hence it can be said that
even in Sanskrit literature there is not a single
book which deals with all the principles and
truths of Hindu Dharma in such p. short yet
exhaustive and unapproachable manner,.

m— GITA: THE TEEASUEE HOUSE
OP DHAEMA.

Bif Pandit Madan Mohan Malavdifa.

I believe that in the whole history of man-
kind, the greatest outstanding personalitj-
having the deepest and the most profound
knowledge and possessing superhuman powers
is Sri Krishna. I further believe that in all the
living languages of the world there is no book
so full of truth-knowledge, and yet so handy,
as the Blia^avad-Gita.

This 4 wonderful book of eighteen small
chapters contains the essence of the Vedas and
the Upanishads and is a sure guide of the way
to peiiect happiness here as well as hereafter.
It preaches tlie threefold way of Knowledge,
Devotion and Action, leading to the highest
knowledge, the purest love and the most lumi-
nous action. It teaches self-control, the three-
fold austerity, non-violence, truth, compas-
sion, obedience to the call of duty for the sake
of duty and putting up a fight against
unrighteousness (Adharma).

Full of knowledge and truth and moral
teaching, it has the power to raise men from
the lowest depths of ignorance and suffering
to the highest glories of divine beings. To my
knowledge, there is no book in the whole range

96

GITA: THE TREASURE HOUSE OF DHARMA

of the world’s literature so high above all as
the Bhagavad Gita which is a treasure-house
of Dharma, not only for the Hindus but
for all maiikiiid. Several scholars of dif-
ferent countries have, by a study of this book,
acquired a pure and perfect knowledge of the
Supreme Being and gained a stainless, desire-
less, supreme devotion to His feet. Those men
and women are vej*y fortunate avIio have got
this little lamp of light !full of an inexhausti-
ble quantity of the oil of love, showing the way
out of .the darkness and ignorance of the
world. It is incumbent on such people to use
it for all mankind groping in darkness.

I sincerely wish and earnestly pray to God
that I may live to hear the news that, Troin the
richest mansion to the poorest cottage, every
Hindu home is not without a copy of the Gita
and that it is held in reverein^e 1)y every Hindu
with all the devotion due to a form of the
DiTune. I also wish to hear that satisfactory
arrangements, backed by knowledge and devo-
tion, as also by money, hav(‘ been made to
Tiopularise the teaching of the Gita among all
sects and classes of this country as well as
other countries all over the world.

May this please ray Lord Sri Krishna !

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

CHAPTER I.

DTiritaraslitra said:

1. On Knrnkslietra, the field of right-
eons war, when my people and the Panda-
vas had assembled together eager for the
impending^ battle, what did they do,
O Sanjaya?

2. When King Duryodhana saw the
army of the Pandavas arrayed for battle,
he drew near to his teacher and said
these words

3. ‘‘Behold, O Teacher, this mighty
army of the sons of Pandn, arrayed by
thy skilful pupil, the son of Drupada.

4. “There are here great archers
equal to Bhima and Arjuna in battle —
Ynyudhana, Virata and Drupada, each a
mighty warrior.

5. “ITe brave Dhrishtaketu,

Chekitana, and the king of Kasi; Purujit
and Knntibhoja, and Saibya, the best of
men ;

7

98

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

6. Yudhamanyu the strong and
TJttamanja the brave ; and also the son of
Snbhadra and the sons of Draupadi, all
of them great warriors.

7. ‘‘Mark also, O best of Brahmans,
the leaders of my army, those who are
most distinguished among ns. I will
name them now, that thou mayst know
them.

8. “Thyself and Bhishma and Kama
and Kripa, ever victorious in battle ;
Asvathama, Vikarna, and also , the son of
Somadatta ;

9. “And many other heroes who
have risked their lives for me, armed
with many kinds of weapons and all
well-skilled in war.

10. “Inadequate is this army of
ours which is guarded by Bhishma, while
adequate is that army of theirs which
is guarded by Bhima.

11. “Therefore do ye all support
Bhishma, standing firm in all fronts in
your respective divisions.’’

12 . In order to cheer him up the
aged Kuru, his valiant grandsire, roared
like a lion and blew his conch.

13 . Then suddenly conches and
kettledrums, tabors and drums and horns

CHAPTER I

99

blared forth ; and the sound was
tumnltnons.

14. Then stationed in their grpat
chariot, to which white horses were yoked,
Krishna and Arjuna blew their celestial
conchs.

15. Krishna blew his Panchajanya,
and Arjuna his Devadatta; and Bhima of
terrible deeds blew his huge conch,
Paundra.

16. King Yudhishthira, son of Kunti,

blew his *Anantavijaya, and Nakula and
Sahadl3va blew their Sughosha and

Manipushpaka.

17. And the king of Kasi, the chief
of archers; Sildiandin, the great warrior;
the invincible Satyaki; Drishtadyumna
and Virata;

18. Drupada and the sons of

Draupadi, O King, and the strong-armed
son of Slibhadra — on all sides blew their
conchs.

19. The tumultuous uproar rent the

hearts of Dhritarashtra’s sons, for it made
the earth and the heavens resound.

20. Then Arjuna, whose banner

bore the crest of Hanuman, looked at
the sons of .Dhritarashtra drawn up in

100

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

battle ; and, as the clash of weapons
began, he took up his bow.

21. And, O King, he said these
words to Krishna:

Arjuna saidi

Draw up my chariot, O Krishna,
between the two armies.

22. And I T\dll look on these men
standing eager for battle and see with
whom I must contend in this strife of war.

23. I wish to observe those who are
assembled here ready to fight ^hd eager
to please in battle the evil-minded son of
Dhritarashtra.

Sanjaya said:

24. Thus addressed by Arjuna,
Krishna drew up that fine chariot, O
Dhritarashtra, between the two armies.

25. In front of Bhishma, Drona and
all the chiefs he said, ‘‘Behold, O Arjuna,
these Kurus assembled here.^’

26. Then saw Arjuna standing there
fathers and grandfathers, teachers, uncles,
brothers, sons, grandsons and comrades;

27 . And also fathers-in-law and
bosom friends in both the armies. When
Arjuna looked on all these kinsmen thus
arrayed —

CHAPTER I

101

28. He was overcome with g^reat
<5ompassion and said these words in
sadness: —

Arj<m%a said:

When I see these, my kinsmen,
drawn up and eager for fight, O Krishna,

29 . My limbs give way, my mouth
is parched, my bod^^ trembles, and my hair
stands on end.

30. Grandiva slips from toy hand and
my skin ’‘burns all over. I am not able
to stand, my mind seems to reel.

31. And I see adverse omens, O
Krishna, nor do I expect any good in slay-
ing my kinstoen in the fight.

32. I desire no victory, O Krishna,
nor dominion, nor pleasures. Of what
use is the kingdom to us, O Krishna, or
enjoyment or even life?

33. Those for whose sake we desire
kingship, delights and pleasures are
.arrayed here in battle, risking their lives
and riches.

34. Teachers, fathers, sons and also
grandfathers ; uncles and grandsons,
fathers-in-law and brothers-in-law and
ether kinsmen.

102

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

35. These I would not Mil, though
Mlled myself, O Krishna, even for the
sovereignty of the three worlds, much
less for this earth.

36. What joy can he ours, O Krishna,
when we have slain the sons of Dhrita-
rashtra? Only sin will take hold of us
when we kill these evil-hearted men.

37. Therefore we must not slay our
kinsmen, the sons of Dhritarashtra. For
how can we be happy, if we Mil our own
kindred, O Krishna?

38. Even if they, whose minds are
overpowered by greed, see no evil in the
ruin of kinsmen, and no crime in treachery
to friends,

39. Why should we not learn to turn
away fro'm this crime, O Krishna — we
who see the sin of ruining a clan?

40. By the ruin of a clan its ancient
laws perish ; and when its laws perish,
lawlessness prevails throughout the clan.

41. And when lawlessness prevails,
O Krishna, the high-born women of the
clan go astray ; and when women go
astray, there arises confusion of castes.

42. And this confusion leads into
hell the clan itself as w^ell as those who

CHAPTER I

103

have destroyed it. For the spirits of their
ancestors fall, deprived of their offerings
of water and rice.

43. By the misdeeds of those who
destroy a clan and create confusion of
castes, the immemorial laws of the clan
and the ca^te are rooted out.

44. And we hear it said, O Krishna,
that the men of the clans whose laws are
rooted out needs must live in hell.

45. Alas ! what a great sin we have
resolved 4o commit in striving to slay our
kinsnfen through our greed for the plea-
sures of the kingdom!

46. Far better would it be for me if
the sons of Dhritarashtra, weapons in
hand, should slay me in the battle, while
I remain unresisting and unarmed.
Sanjaya said :

47 . Having spoken thus on the field
of battle Arjuna sank down on the seat of
his chariot and cast away his bow and
arrow, his heart overwhelmed by grief.

In the Upanishad of the Bhagavad
Gita, the science of the Absolute, the
scripture of Yoga, and the dialogue
between Sri Krishna and Arjuna this is.
the first chapter entitled:

THE DEPRESSION OF ARJUNA

CHAPTER II

S(t%ijaya said :

]. He was thus ov^ercome with pity,
liis eyes were filled "with tears and became
troubled, and he was much depressed.
Then Krishna said these words :

'The Bhagavan said:

2. Whence has this loathsome feel-
ing come upon thee, O Arjuna, in this
crisis? It is ignoble, it is disgraceful, it
debars thee from heaven.

3. Do not yield to this weakness,
O Arjuna, for it does not become thee.
Shake off this base faintness of heart
and arise, 0 dreaded hero!

Arjuna said:

4. How can I attack Bhishma and
Drona in battle with my arrows, 0
avenging Krishna? Worthy of worship
are they to me.

5. It is better indeed to live as a
beggar in this world without slaying these
venerable teachers. For, though they are
mindful only of their gains, they are my
teachers; and if I should slay them, all
my joys even in this life would be stained
with blood.

CHAPTER II

105

6. We do not know which of these
two is better for us, nor do we know
whether we shall conquer them or they
will conquer us. The very men whom,
if we slew, we should not care to live,
even they, the sons of Dhritarashtra, are
arrayed against us.

7. My heart is stricken with the
weakness of compassion ; my mind is
perplexed about my duty; and so I ask
thee. Tell me for certain which is
better. JTeach me, for I am thy pupil
and Imve taken refuge in thee.

8. Even if I should obtain the
rich and unrivalled sovereignty of the
earth and the lordship of the gods in
heaven, I do not know what would drive
away this grief that dries up my senses.
Sanjaya said :

9 . Having thus addressed Krishna,
the mighty Arjuna said he would not
fight and remained silent.

10 . As he thus remained in grief,
O Dhritarashtra, between the two armies,
Krishna seemed to smile and spoke these
words.

The Bhagavan said:

11. Thou weepest for those whom
thou shouldst not weep for, and yet thou

106

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

speakest words that seem to he wise.
Wise men weep neither for the dead nor
fnr the living.

12. Never w'as there a time when
I did not exist, nor thou, nor these kings
of men. Never will there he a time here-
after when any of us shall cease to he.

13 . As the soul in this hody
passes through childhood, youth and old
age, even so does it pass to another hody.
A wise man is not deluded by this.

14. The senses in confact with

t

their objects, O Arjuna, give rise to heat
and cold, and pleasure and pain. They
come and go, and do not last for ever.
Endure them, O Arjuna.

15 . The man who is not affected
by these, O chief of men, and who
remains the same in pleasure and pain,
steadfast — he is fit for immortality.

16. The unreal never is, the Real
never is not; the conclusion about these
two is well perceived by seers of Truth.

17. Know that to be imperishable
by which all this is pervaded. None can
cause the destruction of this which is
immutable.

18. Transient are said to be these
bodies of the eternal sotil which is

CHAPTER II

107

imperishable and incomprehensible.
Therefore, fight, O Arjnna.

19. He who thinks it slays, and fie
who thinks it is slain — neither of them
knows it well. It neither slays, nor is it
slain.

20. It is never born, it never dies,
nor, having once been, does it again cease
to be. Unborn, eternal, permanent and
primeval, it is not slain when the body is
slain.

21 . • He who knows that it is imperi-
shable and eternal, and that it has neither
birth nor change — ^how can that man slay
anyone, O Arjnna, or cause anyone to
slay?

22. As a person casts off worn-out
garments and puts on others that are new,
so does the incarnate soul cast off worn-
out bodies and enter into others that are
new.

23. Weapons do not cleave him;
fire does not burn him; water does not
make him wet; nor does the wind make
him dry.

24. He cannot be cloven, he cannot
be burnt, he cannot be vretted, he cannot
be dried. He is eternal, all-pervasive, un-

lOB

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

< 5 hanging and immovable. He is the same
for ever.

25. He is said to be unmanifest^
inconceivable and nnchanging. Therefore,
knowing him as such, thou shouldst not
grieve for him.

26 . Even if thou boldest that he
is frequently born and that he frequently
dies — even then, O mighty Arjuna, thou
shouldst not grieve.

27. For whatever is born is sure to
die, and whatever dies is sure to t3 born
again. Therefore, for what is inevitable
thou shouldst not grieve.

28. Mysterious is the origin of beings,
manifest their intermediate stage, O
Arjuna, and mysterious again is their
end. What is there for grief in this?

29. One looks upon him as a tnarvel,
another likewise speaks of him as a mar-
vel, another hears of him as a marvel ; and,
even after hearing, one never knows him.

30. The soul that dwells in the bodies
of all, O Arjuna, can never be slain.
Therefore thou shouldst not grieve for
any creature.

31. Further, if thou shouldst regard
thine own duty, thou shouldst not falter;

CHAPTER II

109

for to a Kshatriya there is no higher
good than a righteous war.

32. Happy are the Kshatriyas, 'O
Arjuna, who come by such a war that
offers itself of its own accord as an open
door to heaven.

33. But if thou w^ilt not wage this
righteous war, thou wilt relinquish thy
duty and thy honour, and \vilt incur sin.

34. The world will ever speak of
thy dishonour, and to a man who has been
honoui*^3d, dishonour is worse than death.

35 . The great warriors will think
thou hast fled from battle through fear,
and those that held thee in high esteem
will make light of thee.

36. Many a vile word will thy enemies
speak slandering thy strength. Could
anything be more painful than that?

37. If thou fall, thou wilt go to
heaven; if thou win, thou wilt enjoy the
earth. Therefore, arise, O Arjuna, having
made up thy mind to fight.

38. Pleasure and pain, gain and
loss, victory and defeat — treat them alike
and gird thj^self for fight. Thus thou wilt
not incur sin.^

110

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

39. This advice that has been given
to thee is of the highest knowledge. Listen
now to this of selfless conduct. If Jthou
follow it, O Arjnna, thou wilt break
through the bonds of action.

40. In this no effort is ever lost, and
no harm is ever done. Even a little of
this law will save a man from great fear.

41. In this the resolute mind has a
single aim, O Arjuna; but the thoughts of
the irresolute are manifold and endless.

42 & 43. Fools who rejoice in the letter
of the Veda say, ‘‘There is nothihg else
but this.’’ Their souls are ridden with
desire, and they long for a Paradise ; they
quote florid texts that give out rebirth as
the reward of rituals and lay down vari-
ous rites for the acquisition of pleasure
and power.

44. Therefore those that are attract-
ed to pleasure and power are carried
away by these words, and have not the
resolute will of a steadfast mind.

45. The Vedas treat of Nature’s three-
fold disposition. But do thou transcend
this, O Ar juna ; be free from the pairs of
opposites, be steadfast in purity, never
care for possessions, but possess thy
soul.

CHAPTER II

111

46. As is the use of a pond in a
place flooded with water everywhere, so
is that of all the Vedas to a Brahinan wSo
knows.

47. Work alone art thou entitled to,
and not to its fruit. So never work for
fruit, nor yet desist from work.

48. Work with an even mind, O
Arjuna, having given up all attachment.
Be of even m.ind in success and in failure.
Evenness of mind is called Yoga.

49. Far inferior indeed is mere action,
O Ar*una, to equanimity of mind. So
take refuge in equanimity. Miserable
are they who work for fruit.

50. A man of even mind puts away
here both good and evil. Therefore strive
for Yoga. Yoga is skill in action.

51. Sages of even mind, who give
up the fruits of their actions, are freed
from the bond of birth, and go to the place
where no ills exist.

52. When thy mind has crossed the
slough of delusion, thou wilt become
inditferent to what has been learnt and
also to what is yet to be learnt.

53. When thy mind, which is dis-
tracted by th,e Vedic texts, rests steadfast

112

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

and firm in spirit — then wilt thou gain
true insight.

A rjuna said :

54. What is the mark of the man of
steadfast wisdom, of steadfast spirit, O
Krishna? How does the man of firm
understanding speak, how does he sit, and
how does he walk?

The Bhagavan said:

55. When a man puts away all the
desires of his mind, O Arjuna, and when
his spirit finds comfort in itself — then is
he called a man of steadfast wisdom.

56. He who is not perturbed in
mind by adversity and who has no eager-
ness amidst prosperity, he from whom
desire, fear and anger have fallen away
— ^he is called a sage of firm understand-
ing.

57. He who has no attachments on
any side, and who does not rejoice nor
hate when he obtains good or evil — his
wisdom is firmly set.

58. When a man withdraws his
senses from their objects on every side,
as a tortoise does its limbs, then is his
wisdom firmly set.

59. The objects of senses fall away
from the embodied soul when it ceases

CHAPTER II

113

to feed OH them, but the taste for them
is left behind. Even the taste falls away
when the Supreme is seen.

60. Though a man may ever strive,
O Arjuna, and be ever so wise, his senses
will rebel and carry otf his mind by force.

61. So he should control them all
and remain steadfast and devoted to me;
for he whose senses are under control —
his wisdom is firmly set.

62. AVhen a man dwells in his mind
on the^obj^cts of sense, he feels an attach-
ment for them. Attachment gives lise to
desire, and desire breeds anger.

63. From anger comes delusion,
from delusjoji tlie loss of recollection,
from the loss of recollection the luiii of
the understanding, and from the ruin of
the understanding he perishes.

64. But a man of disciplined mind
who moves among the objects of sense
with his senses fully under his control,
and free from love and hate — he attains
to a clear vision.

65 . And in that clear vision there
is an end of all sorrow; for the man of
clear vision soon acquires a serene com-
prehension.

8

114

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

66. When a man has no self-control^
he can have no comprehension, nor can he
h^ye the power of contemplation. And
without contemplation he can have no
peace ; and when he has no peace, how can
he be happy?

67. When his mind runs after the
roving senses, it carries off with it the
understanding, as a gale carries away a
ship upon the waters.

68. Therefore, O mighty Arjuna,
he whose senses are all withdrawn from
their objects — his wisdom is firmly i set.

69. What is night for all beings is the
time of waking for the disciplined soul;
and what is the time of waking for all
beings is night for the sage who sees.

70. The man into whom all desires
enter as the waters enter into the sea,
which, though ever filled, remains within
its bounds — sucli a man attains to peace,
and not he who hugs his desires.

71. Tlie man who gives up all desires
and goes about free from any longing,
and bereft of the feeling of ‘I’ and ‘ mine ^
— he attains to peace.

72. This is a divine state, O Arjuna.
He who has reached it is deluded no

CHAPTER III

115

longer, and he who is established in it
even at the hour of death — ^he attains
to the bliss of God.

In the Upanishad of the Bhagavad
Gita this is the second chapter en-

titled :

THE YOGA OF KISTOWLEDGE.

CHAPTER HI

Arjuna said:

1. If thou boldest that true insight
is superior to works, why dost thou urge
mo to do this horrible work, O Krishna?

2. With such conflicting words me-
thinks thou dost confuse my mind.
Therefore tell me for certain that alone
by which I could reach the liighest good.

The Bhagavan said:

3. In this world a twofold way of life
was taught of yore by me, O Arjuna,
— that of knowledge for men of contem-
plation, and that of works for men of
action.

4. No man can ever be free from a
life of action by merely avoiding active

116

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

work; and no man can ever reacli perfec-
tion through mere renunciation.

5. For no man can sit still even for a
moment, but does some work. Everyone
is driven to act, in spite of himself, by the
impulses of Nature.

6. He who controls his organs of
action, but continues to brood in his mind
over the ob;jects of sense — he deludes him-
self, and is termed a hypocrite.

7. But he who controls his senses
along with the mind, O Arjuiia, and
directs his organs of action to work with-
out attachment — he is indeed superior.

8. Do thou thy allotted work; for to
work is better than to desist from work.
By desisting from work thou canst not
even sustain thy body.

9. This world is fettered by work
unless it is done as a sacrifice. Therefore,
O Arjuna, give up thy attachments and
do thy work as a sacrifice.

10. In the beginning it is along with
sacrifice that the Creator created men and
said, ‘‘By this shall ye multiply, and this
shall be the Cow which will yield unto
you the milk of your desires.

CHAPTER III

117

11. this shall ye cherish the
gods, and the gods shall cherish you.
Thus cherishing one another ye will
obtain the highest good.

12. ‘‘For cherished by sacrifice the
gods will bestow on you the pleasures ye
desire. He is verily a thief who enjoys
the things they give without giving them
anything in return. ’ ’

13. The good men who eat what is
left over ^^ter a sacrifice are freed from
all sir^!B. But the wicked who prepare
food for their own sake — verily they eat
sin.

14. From food are all creatures born;
from rain is food produced; from the
effects of sacrifice comes rain; and these
effects spring from the acts of sacrifice.

15. Know that the acts of sacrifice
are taught in the Veda, and that the Veda
springs from God. Therefore the Veda,
which comprehends all, ever centres
round the sacrifice.

16 . Thus was the wheel set in
motion; and he who does not follow it,
but takes delight in the senses and lives
in sin — O Arjuna, he lives in vain.

118

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

17. But the man who rejoices in the
Spirit, who is content and satisfied with
tlie Spirit alone — he has nothing for
which he should work.

18. He has nothing to gain by the
things he has done or left undone in this
world; nor has he to depend on any
created being' for any object of his.

19. Therefore alw^ays without attach-
ment do the work thou hast to do, for a
man who does his work without attach-
ment wins the Supreme.

20. It is by works alone that men
like Jaiiaka became blest; and works thou
shouldst do also with a view to the main-
tenance of the world.

21. Whatever a great man does, the
same is done by others as well. He sets
up a standard, and it is followed by the
world.

22. There is nothing in the three
worlds, O Arjuna, for me to achieve, nor
is there anything to gain which I have not
gained. Yet I continue to work.

23. For if I did not continue to work
unwearied, O Arjuna, men all around
would follow my path.

CHAPTER III

119

24. If I should cease to work, these
worlds would perish ; and I should cause
confusion and destroy these people.

25 . As ignorant men act from
atlaelnnent to their work, O Arjuna, so too
should an enlightened man act, but with-
out any attachment, so that he may main-
tain the order of the world.

26. Let no enlightened man unsettle
the minds of the ignorant who are attach-
ed to their work. Himself doing all works
with faitli^he sliould make others do so as
well .

27. All work is really done by the
dispositions of Nature. But man, delud-
ed by the feeling of self, thinks, am the
‘doer. ’ ’

28. But he wlio knows the truth of
dispositions and actions and what is dis-
tinct from them, O Arjuna, holds himself
aloof, thinking, ‘'"It is the organs of seirse
that are occupied with the objects of
sense.'’

29. Those who are misled by the
dispositions of Nature are attached to the
works wliicli tliose dispositions prompt.
But let no man who knows the whole un-
settle the minds of the ignorant who know
only a part. .

120

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

30. Surrender all thy works to me
and fight — wth thy mind in unison with
the Spirit and free from every desire and
trace of self, and all thy passion spent.

31. Those who, full of faith, ever
follow this teaching of mine and do not
carp at it — they too are released from
their works.

32. But those who carp at my teach-
ing and do not act thereon — know that
such senseless men, blind to all wisdom,
are lost.

33. Even the man who knows acts
in accordance with his own nature. All
beings follow their nature : what can
repression do?

34. Love and hatred are bound to
arise towards the objects of each sense.
But let no man come under the sway of
these, for they are his enemies.

35. Better is one’s ovm law, though
imperfectly carried out, than the law of
another carried out perfectly. Better is
death in going by one’s own law, the law
of another brings fear in its train.

Arjuna said:

36. But what impels a man to com-
mit sin, O Krishna, in spite of himself and

CHAPTER IH

121

driven, as it were, by force?

The Bhagvan said :

37. It is desire, it is wratli, wliicli
springts from jDassion. Know that it is
our enemy here, a monster of greed and
sin.

38 . As a flame is enveloped by
smoke, as a mirror by dust, and as an un-
born babe by the womb, so is this enve-
loped by that.

39 . Enveloped is true knowledge,
O Arjtfina* by the insatiable fire of desire,
which is the constant foe of the wise.

40 . The senses, the mind and the
understanding are said to be its seat.
Through them it veils the knowledge and
deludes the soul.

41 . Therefore, O Arjuna, control
thy senses from the beginning and slay
this foul destroyer of knowledge and
experience.

42. The senses are great, they say,
the mind is greater than the senses, and
the understanding greater than the mind ;
but what is greater than the understand-
ing is He.

43. Therefore know Him who is
higher than . the understanding, control

122

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

the lower self by the higher Self, and kill
the enemy, O Arjuna, who comes in the
guise of desire, and who is hard to over-
come.

In the Upanishad of the Bhagavad

Oita this is the third chapter

entitled :

THE YOGA OP WORKS

CHAPTER IV

The Bhagavan said:

1. I taught this eternal Yoga to
Vivas vat, Vivasvat told it to Mann, and
Mann told it to Ikshvakii.

2. Thus handed down from one to
another the royal sages knew it. But
through long lapse of time, O Arjuna, the
doctrine was lost to the world.

3. This same ancient doctrine has
to-day been taught to thee by me, for
thou art my devotee and my friend. And
it is a supreme secret.

Arjuna said:

4. Later was thy birth, and earlier
the birth of Vivasvat. How, then am I to

CHAPTER IV

123

understand that then didst teach him in
the beginning?

The Bhagavan said:

5 . Many a birth have I passed
through, O Arjuna, and so liast thou. I
know them all, but thou knowest not
thine .

6 . Though I am unborn and my
nature is eternal, and though I am the
Lord of all creatures, I employ Nature
which is own, and take birth through
my di\^ine power.

7. Whenever there is a decline of
Law, O Arjniia, and an outbreak of law-
lessness I incarnate myself.

8. For the protection of the good,
for the destruction of the wicked and for
the establishment of the Law- I am born
from age to age,

9. He who knows aright my divine
birth and works wdll never be born again
when he leaves his body, but will come to
me, O Arjuna.

10. Freed from passion, fear and
anger, absorbed in me, seeking refuge in
me, and purified by the fire of knowledge
many have become one with me.

124

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

11 . Howsoever men approach
even so do I accept them; for on all sides
^yhatever path they may choose is mine,

0 Arjuna.

12. Those who desire the fruit of
their works worship the gods here ; for
quickly in this world of men do such
works hear fruit.

13. The four castes were created by
me according to the division of aptitudes
and works. Though I am their creator,
know thou that I neither act nor change.

14. Works do not defile me; lor do

1 long for their fruit. He who knows me
thus is not bound by his works.

15. Men of old who sought deliver-
ance knew this and did their work.
Therefore do thy Avork as the aneientv^ did
in former times.

16. What is work and what is no work
— even the wise are perplexed here .
I Avill tell thee what work is, so that thou
mayst know and be freed from evil.

17 . One has to understand what
Avork really is, and likewise what is wrong
work and also Avhat is no Avork. Hard to
understand is the way of work.

18. He who sees no work in work, and
work in no work, he is wise among men,

CHAPTER IV

125

he is a Yogin, and he has accomplished all
his work.

19. He whose undertakings are all free
from desire and self-will, and whose works
are burnt up by the fire of knowledge — ^him
the wise men call a sage.

20. Giving np attachment to the frnit
of works, always satisfied, and depending
on none, he is^ ever engaged in work — and
yet he does no work at all.

21. Halving no desires, bringing his
mind t^nd self under control, and giving up
all possessions he commits no sin, his wmrk
being of the body alone.

22. Satisfied with whatever he gets,
rising above both pleasure and pain,
having no ill-will, and remaining the same
in success and failure he acts indeed, but
he is not bound,

23. The works of a man whose
attachments are gone, who is free, and
whose mind is well established in know-
ledge, melt away entirely, being done as
for a sacrifice.

24. To him the offering is God, the
oblation is God; and it is God that offers
it in the fire of God. Thus does he realise

126

THE BIIAGAVAD GITA

God in his works, and he reaches Him
alone.

25. Some Yogins offer sacrifices to the
gods, while others offer sacrifice in the fire
of God, even in the manner of a sacrifice.

26. Some offer as sacrifice their hear-
ing and other senses in the fires of res-
traint; while others offer sound and other
objects of sense in the fires of their senses.

27. Some again offer the works of
their senses and their life-breaths as sacri-
fice in the fire of self-control kind^pd by
knowledge.

28. Some likewise offer as sacrifice
their riches or their austerities or their
practices ; while others of subdued minds
and severe vows offer their learning and
their knowledge.

29. Some again, who are bent on
regulating* their breath, sacrifice the out-
ward breath in the inward, or the inward
breath in the outward, or stop the passage
of both the inward and the outward.

30. While others, restricting their
food, sacrifice their life-breaths in their
life-breaths. All these know what sacrifice
means, and by sacrifice are their sins
destroyed.

CHAPTER IV

127

31. Those who eat the sacred food that
remains after a sacrifice go to the eternal
Absolute. This world is not for him who*
makes no sacrifice, O Arjnna, much less the
other.

32. Thus many kinds of sacrifice are
set forth as the means of reaching the
Absolute. And they all spring from active
work. Know them as such, and thou shalt
be free.

33. Knowledge as a sacrifice is superior
to all ^atelial sacrifices, O Arjuna. For
all works Avith no exception culminate in
knowledge.

34. Learn this by humble reverence,
by enquiry and by service. The wise who
have seen the truth will teach thee this
divine knowledge.

35. AVhen thou hast known it, thou wilt
nor err again as now, O Arjnna; for thou
wilt see all things without exception in thy-
self and also in me.

36. Even if thou art the most sinful
of sinners, thou wilt cross over all trans-
gression by the raft of divine knowledge.

37. As the fire which is kindled re-
duces all fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, so does

128

THE BHAGAVAD OITA

the fire of knowledge reduce all works to
ashes.

38. There is no purifier on earth
equal to divine kiiOAvledge. A man who
becomes perfect in Yoga finds it in himself
in course of time.

39. He Avho is full of faith and zeal
and who has subdued his senses obtains
divine knowledge ; and when he has
obtained it, he soon gains supreme peace.

40. But tlie man who is ignorant and
has no faith and who always doubts goes
to ruin. Thei*e is neither this wo:.ld nor
the Avorld beyond nor happiness for the
man who always doubts.

41. Works do not bind the man,
O Arjuna, whom Yoga prompts to selfless
action and whose doubts are destroyed by
divine knowledge and Avho ever possesses
his soul.

42. Therefore having cut asunder
with the sword of knowledge this doubt in
thy heart which is born of ignorance, be-
take thyself to Yoga and arise, O Arjuna.

In the Upanishad of the Bhagavad

Grita. this is the fourth chapter

entitled : '

THE YOGA OF DIVINE KNOWLEDGE.

CHAPTER V

j^rjuna said:

1 . Thou praisest O Krishna, the
renunciation of works and also their
selfless performance. Tell me for certain
which is the better of the two.

The Bhagavayi said:

2. The renunciation of works and
their s^flfleSs performance both lead to
bliss. But of the two the performance of
works is better than their renunciation.

3. He who neither hates nor desires
should be known as one who has ever the
spirit of renunciation; for he who is
above such contraries, O mighty Arjuna,
is easily freed from bondage.

4. It is the simple and not the wise that
speak of works and their renunciation as
diverse ways. He who is firmly set on
one reaches the end of both.

5. The i3lace Avhich is reached by
men of renunciation is reached by men of
action also. He who sees that the way of
renunciation and the way of works are
one — he sees indeed.

9

13C

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

6. But to achieve renunciation is
hard, O mighty Arjuna, for one who is

^not trained in selfless action; while the
sage who is trained in selfless action
reaches the Absolute in no long* time.

7. Pie who is trained in selfless
action and is pure in soul, who has con-
quered himself and subdued his senses, his
self being the Self of all creatures, he is
undefiled, though he works.

8. do nothing at all,’’ thinks the
man of selfless action knowing the truth;
for in seeing, hearing, touching, s'melling,
tasting, walking, breathing and sleeping;

9. In speaking, in emitting and
grasping, in opening and closing his eyes,
he is convinced that it is the senses that
are occupied wPth the objects of sense.

10. He who works without attach-
ments, resigning his actions to God, is
untouched by sin, as a lotus leaf by
water.

11. With the body, with the mind,
with the understanding and with the
senses alone, men of selfless actions do
their work without attachment for the
purification of their souls.

12. A selfless man who has renoun-
ced the fruit of his actions attains to a dis-

CHAPTER V

131

ciplined peace of mind. But tlie man wlao
is not selfless is impelled by desire and is
attached to the fruit, and is therefore*
bound.

13. The soul which has renounced
all works with a discerning mind dwells at
ease, self-subdued in the city of nine gates,
neither working nor causing work to be
done.

14. The sr>.vereign soul neither works
in the world nor causes anyone to work.
Nor does it«connect works with their fruits.
It is Nature that works.

15. Nor does the all-pervading Spirit
take on the sin or the mei it of any. Know-
ledge is veiled by ignorance, and inortals
are thereby deluded.

16. But for those in whom this igno-
rance is dispelled by knowledge, the know-
ledge illumines the Supreme like the sun.

17. Thinking of Him, at one with
Him, abiding in Him, and delighting solely
in Him, they reach a state from which
theie is no return, their sins being dispelled
by their knowledge.

18. Sages look upon all alike —
whether it be a learned and lowly Brah-
man or a cow or an elephant or even a
dog or an outcaste.

132

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

19. Those whose minds are thus set
on equality have even here overcome their
being. God is pure, and is the same in
aU, therefore are they established in
God.

20. He who knows God and is

established in Him, he who is undeluded
and is firm of mind — he neither joys at
what is pleasant, nor is vexed at what is
unpleasant.

21. His soul being unattached to

external objects, he finds tho happiness
that is in himself ; he is in unibn with
God, and he enjoys undying bliss.

22. For the pleasures that arise from
attachments are only sources of pain.
They have a beginning and an end, O
Arjuna, and no wise man delights in
them.

23. He who is able to resist the force
of desire and anger even here before he
quits his body — ^he is a Yogin, he is a
blessed man.

24. The Yogin who is happy with-
in, who rejoices within, and who is illu-
mined within becomes divine, and attains
to the beatitude of God.

25. Those whose sins are destroyed
and whose doubts are removed, whose

CHAPTER V

138

minds are disciplined and who rejoice in
the good of all beings — such holy men
attain to the beatitude of God.

26. Those who are free from desire
and anger, and who liave subdued their
minds and realised themselves — around
such austere men lies the beatitude of
God.

27 & 28. Shutting out all external
objects, fixing the gaze of his eyes be-
tween his brj:)ws, and equalising the inward
and th^ outward breath moving in his
nostrils, the sage who has controlled his
senses, mind, understanding, and who has
put away desire, fear and anger, and who
is ever bent on liberation — he is indeed
ever liberated.

29. And having known me who am
the Recipient of all sacrifices and auste-
rities, the Lord of all the worlds and the
Friend of all creatures, he attains peace.

In the Upanishad of the Bhagavad

Gita this is the fifth

chapter entitled:

THE YOGA OF REXUNCIATIOX.

CHAPTER VI

The Bhagavan said:

] . He who does the work he ought
to do, and does not seek its fruit — ^he is a
Sannyasin, and he is a Yogin, not he who
does no work and maintains no sacred
fires.

2. Know that what they call renun-
ciation is the same as Yoga, O Arjuna, for
no one who has not renounced his desire
can ever become a Yogin.

3. Work is said to be the means of
a sage who wants to attain to Yoga; but
when he has attained to Yoga, serenity is
said to be his means.

4. When a Inan has no attachment
to the objects of sense nor to works, and
when he has wholly renounced his will,
he is said to have attained to Yoga.

5. Let a man raise himself by his own
self, let him not debase himself. For he
himself is his friend, and he himself is his
foe.

6. He who has conquered himself is
the friend of himself ; but he who has not
conquered himself is hostile to himself as
a foe.

CHAPTER VI

135

7. The spirit of a man who has con-
quered himself and attained to serenity is
steadfast in cold and heat, in pleasure and^
pain, and in honour and dishonour.

8. He is said to be a steadfast Yogin
wh^se mind derives satisfaction from
knovdedge and experience and who,
having conquered his senses, never vacil-
lates, and to whom a clod, a stone and a
piece of gold are the same.

9. He ^v7ho has equal regard for
frionlp, companions and foes, for those
that are indifferent, for those that are
impartial, for those that are hateful, for
those tliat are related, and even for those
that are righteous and those that are
sinful — he stands supreme,

10. A Yogin should always try to
concentrate l}is mind in solitude, having
retiredi to a secret place and subdued his
mind and body and got rid of his desires
and possessions.

11 & 12. Having in a clean place

firmly fixed liis seat, neither too high nor
too low, and having spread over it the
sacred grass, and then a deerskin, and then
a cloth, he sliould practise Yoga for his
own purification, restraining his thoughts

136

THE BHA.aA.VAD GITA

and senses, and bringing his mind to a
j3oint,

13. Sitting firm he should hold his
body, head and neck erect and still, and
gaze steadily on the point of his nos^^
without looking around.

14. Serene and fearless, steadfast in
the vow of celibacy", and subdued in mind^
he should sit in Yoga, thinking on me and
intent on me alone.

15. Keeping himself ever steadfast
in this manner, the Yogin of subdued
mind attains to the peace which abides in
me, and which leads on to bliss.

16. Yoga is not for him who eats too
much, nor for him who eats too little. It
is not for him, O Arjuna, who sleeps too
much, nor for him who keeps vigil too
long,

17. But for the man Avho is tempe-
rate in his food and recreation, who is
restrained in all his actions, and who has
regulated his sleep and vigils. Yoga puts
an end to all sorrows.

18. When the disciplined mind of a
man is established in the Spirit alone, free
from the desire of any object — then is he
said to possess concentration.

CHAPTER VI

137

19. ‘As a lamp in a place sheltered
from the wind does not flicker’ — that is
the figure employed of a Yogin who, with'
a subdued mind, practises concentration
of the Spirit.

20. That in which the mind is at
rest controlled by the practice of con-
centration, that in which he beholds the
Spirit through the mind and rejoices in
the Spirit ;

21. That in which he knows the
bound^ss *joy beyond the reach of the
senses and grasped only by the under
standing, and that in which, when he is
established, he never departs from truth;

22. That on gaining which he feels
there is no greater gain, and that in which
he abides and is not moved even by the
heaviest of afflictions —

23. Let that be known as Yoga. It
is severance indeed of contact with pain,
and it is to be practised with determi-
nation and an untiring mind.

24 & 25. Renouncing entirely all
the desires born of the imagination, and
restraining with his mind all his senses on
every side, a man should gain tranquility
little by little; and with a steadfast pur-

138

THE BITAGAVAD GITA

pose concentrate his mind on the Spirit^
and think of nothing else.

26. Whatsoever makes the wavering
and fickle mind wander aAvay — it should
be withdrawn from that and brought back
to the control of the Spirit.

27. For supreme happiness comes to
the Yogin whose mind is at rest, whose
passions are composed, and who is pure
and has become one with God.

28. Thus making the spul ever
steadfast, the Yogin whose sins liav^b dis-
appeared easily experiences the infinite
joy of union with God.

29. Steadfast in Yoga he sees himself
in all beings, and all beings in himself —
he sees the same in all.

30. He who sees me everywhere and
sees everything in me —I am never lost to
liim, and he is never lost to me.

31. The Yogin who, having attained
to oneness, worships me abiding in all
beings — he lives in me, howsoever he
leads his life.

32. He who looks upon all as him-
self, in pleasure or in pain — he is con-
sidered, O Arjnna, a perfect Yogin.

CHAPTER VI

139

Arjuna said:

33. This Yoga which thon hast
declared to be eveimess of mind,
Krishna, — I do not see any steadiness for
it because of fickleness.

34. For the mind is fickle, O Krishna,
it is violent, powerful and obstinate. To
control it is as difficult, it seems to me, as
to control the wind.

The Bhagavan saidi

35. Doubtless the mind is fickle and
hard •to curb, O mighty Arjuna, but by
constant practice and by detachment it
can be controlled.

36. Yoga is hard to achieve, I agree,
by a man who cannot control himself. But
it can be achieved by a man who has con-
trolled himself and who strives through
proper means.

Arjiina said:

37. A man who has faith, but who is
not steadfast, and whose mind has fallen
away from Yoga, having failed to accom-
plish it — what way does he go, O Krishna ?

38. Does he not perish like a riven
cloud, O Krishna, fallen from both, and
without any hold, and bewildered in the
way that leads to God?

140

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

39. Thou shouldst dispel this doubt
of mine completely, O Krishna, for no
due is better fitted than thyself to dispel
such a doubt.

The Bhagavan said:

40. Neither in this world nor in the
next will he perish, O Arjuna. For a man
who does good, my son, will never come
to grief.

41. The man who has fallen away
from Yoga goes to the regions of the
righteous. Having lived there? fof un-
numbered years, he is reborn in the house
of the pure and xorosperous.

42. Or he is born in a family of
Yogins rich in wisdom. But a birth like
this is hard to gain in this world.

43. There he regains the under-
standing acquired in his former body, O
Arjuna, and strives still further for
perfection.

44. By his former habit he is led on
in spite of himself . Even a man who
merely desires to know of Yoga transcends
the Vedic rule of works.

45. But, if a Yogin strives with dili-
gence, he is cleansed of all his sins; and
becoming perfect through many births
he reaches the supreme state.

CHAPTER VII

141

46. A Yogiii is greater than a man
of austerities, he is considered greater
than even a man of knowledge, and greater
also than a man devoted to works. There-
fore do thou become a Yogin, O Arjuna.

47. And of all Yogins he who wor-
ships me with faith, his inmost self dwell-
ing in me — he is considered by me to be
the most attuned.

In the Upanishad of the Bhagavad

Gita this is the sixth chapter

entitl^xl :

THE YOGA OF MEDITATION

CHAPTER YII

The Bhaga van said :

1. Hear thou, O Arjuna, how by
fixing thy mind on me and taking refuge
in me and practising Yoga, thou mayst
without any doubt know me in full.

2. I will set forth to thee in full both
knowledge and experience, which when
thou hast learnt, nothing more remains
for thee to -know.

142

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

3. Among thousands of men scarcely
one strives for perfection; and of those
who strive and succeed scarcely one
knows me in truth.

4. Earth, water, fire, air, ether,
mind, understanding and self-conscious-
ness — such is the eight-fold division of my
nature.

5. This is my lower nature. My
other and liigher nature — know that to l^e
the immanent spirit, O Arjuna. by which
the universe is sustained.

6. And know that all beings have
their birth in these. I am the origin of
all this world and its dissolution as well.

7. There is nothing whatever that
is higher than I am, O Arjuna; all this is
strung on me as rows of gems on a string.

8. I am the taste in the waters, O
Arjuna ; I am the light in the sun and the
moon. I am the syllable OM in all the
Vedas; I am the sound in ether, and
manliness in men.

9. I am the pure fragrance in the
earth, and brightness in the fire. I
am the life in all creatures, and the auste-
rity in ascetics.

CHAPTER VII

143

10. Know me to be the primeval seed,

O Arjuiia, of all things that are. I am the
wisdom of the wise, and I am the glory o?
the glorious.

11. I am the strength of the strong,
free from desire and passion. And I am
the desire in all creatures, O Arjuna,
which is not in conflict with the law.

12. And whatever things there may
be — good, passionate or dull of nature —
know thou they are all from me. I am
not, howewer, in them; they are in me.

13. Deluded by these three-fold dis-
positions of Nature this world does not
laiow me, who am above them and eternal.

14. This divine spell of mine
consisting in the dispositions of Nature is
hard to overcome. But those who take
refuge in me shall overcome the spell.

15. The wicked and the foolish do
not V'Orshix3 me, nor those that are vile
w'iiese minds are carried away by illusion
and wlio jpartake of the nature of demons.

16. Four types of righteous men
worship me, O Arjuna — the man in dis-
tress, the man who wishes to learn^ the
man who wants to realise the Truth and
the man who realises.

144

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

17. Of these the man of realisation
who has liis devotion centred in One and
who is ever attuned is the best. For
supremely dear am I to the man of reali-
sation, and he is dear to me.

18. Great indeed are all of them.
But the man of realisation — I deem him to
be myself. For being perfectly poised in
mind, he resorts to me alone as the highest
way.

19. At the end of many births the
man of realisation seeks refiige hi me
recognising that Vasudeva is all. It is
hard indeed to meet with such a high-
sonled I'lerson.

20. But those whose judgments are
SAvajnd by various desires resort to other
gods, being overpowered by their own
natures and observing diverse rituals.

21. Whatever may be the form
which each devotee seeks to worship with
faith — in that form alone do I make his
faith steadfast.

22. Possessed of the faith he wor-
ships that form, and his desires are ful-
filled, granted in fact by me alone.

2-3. But finite is the result gained by
these men of small minds. Those who

CHAPTER Vn

145

sacrifice to the gods go to the gods, those
who worship me come to me.

24. Not knowing my supreme nature
immutable and transcendental, foolish men
think that I, the unmanifest, am endowed
with a manifest form.

25. Veiled by my divine power I am
not revealed to all. This deluded world
knows me not as the unborn and eternal.

26. I know the beings that are past,
that are present and that are to come, O
Arjun4i. But not one of them knows me.

27. Deluded are all beings born, O
Arjuna, bewitched by the pairs that spring
from love and hate.

28. But righteous men in whom sin
has come to an end — they are free from
the delusion of the pairs and worship me,
steadfast in their vows.

29. Those who take refuge in me
and strive for deliverance from old age
and death — they shall know the Absolute,
they shall know all about the soul, and all
about works as well.

30. Those who know me as the One
that underlies all elements, that underlies
all gods and that underlies all sacrifices —

10

146

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

steadfast in mind they will know me even
at the hour of death.

* In the tJpanishad of the Bhagavad

Gita this is the seventh

chapter entitled:

THE YOGA OF EXPERIENCE.

CHAPTER VIII

Arjtina said:

1. What is the Absolute? What is
the Soul? And what is AVork’, O
Krishna? What is it that is said to under-
lie all created things? And what is it that
is said to underlie all the gods?

2. And who underlies all sacrifices
here in the body, O Krishna, and how?
And how, again, art Thou to be known at
the time of death by those who have
disciplined themselves ?

The Bhagavan said:

3. The Absolute is the Imperishable
the Supreme. His indwelling phase
is the Soul, and the creative force that

CHAPTER VHI

147

"brings beings into existence is called
■‘Work.’

4. That which underlies all created*
things is the perishable Nature. And that
which underlies all the gods is the Cosmic
Soul and He who underlies all saciifices
is myself, here in the body, O best of men.

5. And whoso, at the time of death,
leaves his body thinking on me alone and
passes away — he becomes one with me. Of
this there is no doubt.

6. For ivhatever object a man thinks
of at ^lie last moment when he leaves his
body — the same does he reach, O Arjuna,
being ever absorbed in the thought
thereof.

7. Therefore at all times think on
me and fight. When thy mind and under-
standing are fixed on me, thou shalt
doubtless come to me.

8. He who thinks on Grod the Sup-
reme with a mind that is engaged in cons-
tant meditation and that never strays to-
wards anything else — he reaches Him^ O
Arjuna.

9. He who meditates on the omni-
scient and primal Being, the Euler, the
Dispenser of all, who is subtler than the

148

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

snbtle, whose form is beyond comprehen-
sion, and who, glorious as the sun, is
beyond all darkness —

10. He who does so at the time of
his passing away, with a steady mind and
devotion and strength of Yoga, and with
his vital breath fixed between his brows —
he reaches God the Supreme.

11. I will now briefly describe to
thee that state which those who know the
Veda call the Imperishable, and upon
which ascetics enter when they are free
from attachments, and desiring which
they lead a life of abstinence.

12 & 13. Closing all the gateways
of the body and confining the mind within
the heart, and drawing up the life-breath
into the head, whoso, thus engaged in
constant concentration, utters OM, the
single syllable denoting Brahman, and
meditates on me as he departs — ^he goes
to the highest state when he quits his body.

14. He who constantly meditates on
me, and gives no thought to anything
else — to him, who is a Yogin ever attuned,
I am easy of access, O Arjuna.

15. Having come to me, these high-
souled men are never again subject to

CHAPTER VHI

149

rebirth, which is sorrowful and imperma-
nent, for they have reached the highest,
perfection.

16. From the realm of Brahma
downwards all worlds are subject to re-
birth, O Arjuna, but on reaching me there
is no return to birth again.

17. Those who know that the day of
Brahma lasts a thousand ages, and that
the night of Brahma lasts a thousand ages
again — they are indeed the men who
know day ^nd night.

18. At the approach of day all
manifest things come forth from the un-
manifested, and at the approach of night
they merge again in the same which is
called the unmanifested.

19. All this multitude of beings
ooming forth again and again needs must
merge at the approach of night, O Arjuna,
and come forth again at the approach of
day.

20. But beyond this unmanifested
there is yet another unmanifested, eternal
Being, who does not perish when all
beings perish.

21. This unmanifested is called the
Imperishable. ' It is said to be the ultimate

150

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

goal.

Those

who reach it never

come

.back.

That :

is my supreme abode.

22.

That

Supreme Being in

whom

all things abide, and by whom all this is
pervaded can be reached, O Arjuna, by
exclusive devotion.

23. Now I will tell thee, O Arjuna^
the time in which Yogins depart never to
return, and also the time in which they
depart only to return.

24. Fire, light, day-time, the bright
half of the month, the six months of the
northward course of the sun — taking this
path, those who know the Absolute go to
the Absolute.

25. Smoke, night, the dark half of
the month, and the six months of the
southward course of the sun — taking this
path, the Yogin reaches the lunar light
and thence returns.

26. These two ways — the bright and
the dark — are deemed the world ^s eternal
ways. By the former one goes never to
return, by the latter one returns again.

27. No Yogin who understands these
two paths is ever deluded. Therefore at
all times, O Arjuna, be thou steadfast in
Yoga.

CHAPTER IX

151

28. The Yogin who knows this
transcends the rewards prescribed for the,
study of the Vedas, for sacrifices, for
penances, and for almsgiving, and reaches
the supreme and primal state.

In the TJpanishad of the Bhagavad

Gita this is the eighth chapter

entitled :

THE YOGA OF THE IMPERISHABLE ABSOLUTE

CHAPTER IX

The Bliagavan said:

1. As thou dost not cavil, I will ex-
pound to thee this profound secret of
knowledge and experience, by under-
standing which thou wdlt be released from
evil.

2. It is a sovereign science, a sove-
reign secret, a supreme sanctity. It is
perceived by direct experience ; it accords
with the law^ ; it is easy to practise ; and it
is eternal.

3. Men who have no faith in this
doctrine do not come to me, O Arjuna,
but return to ‘the path of death and birth.

152

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

4. This universe is everywhere per-
vaded by me, in an unmanifested form.
All beings abide in me, but I do not abide
in them.

5. And yet the beings do not abide
in me, behold, that is my divine mystery.
My spirit, which is the source of all beings,
sustains all things, but it does not abide in
them.

6. As the mighty wind blowing
everywhere ever abides in ethereal space,
know thou that in the same manner all
beings abide in me.

7. At the end of a cycle all beings
pass into Nature which is my own, O
Arjuna, and at the beginning of a cycle I
generate them again.

8. Controlling Nature which is my
own, I send forth again and again all this
multitude of beings, which are helpless
under the sway of Nature.

9. And these works do not bind me,
O Arjuna, for I remain unattached in the
midst of my works like one unconcerned.

10. Under my guidance Nature gives
birth to all things — those that move and
those that do not move ; and by this means,
O Arjuna, the world revolves.

CHAPTER IX

153

11. Fools disregard me when I assume
^ human form, not knowing my higher^
nature as the supreme Lord of all beings.

12. Being of the deceptive nature of
fiends and demons, they are full of vain
hopes, vain works and vain knowledge,
and are devoid of judgment.

13. But high-souled men, O Arjuna,
who partake of the divine nature, worship
me with a mind undistracted, knowing that
I am the Imperishable and that I am the
sourcQ^of ifll beings.

14. Ever glorifying me, and stre-
nuous and steadfast in their vows, they
bow before me and w^orship me with a
constant love and devotion.

15. Others again make an offering
of their knowledge, and worship me as the
One, as the Distinct, and as the Manifold
in various forms.

16. I am the sacrifice, I am the
worship, I am the ancestral oblation, and
I am the herb. I am the hymn, I am also
the melted butter ; I am the fire, and I am
the offering.

17. I am the father of this universe,
the mother, the supporter and the grand-
sire. I am the Holy One to be known.

154

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

I am the syllable ^OM’; and I am the Rik^
the Saman and the Yajns as well,

18. I am the goal and the support;,
the lord and the witness ; the abode, the
refuge and the friend. I am the origin
and the dissolution ; the ground, the
treasure-house and the imperishable seed.

19. I give heat, I hold back and
send forth the rain. I am the life ever-
lasting, O Arjuna, as well as death. I am
the being as well as the non-being.

20. Those who know the Ved^fe and
drink the soma juice and are purified from
sin, worship me with sacrifices and pray
for the way to heaven. They reach the
holy world of Indra and enjoy in heaven
the celestial pleasures of the gods.

21. Having enjoyed the spacious
world of heaven, they return to the world
of mortals when their merit is exhausted.
Thus following the ritual enjoined in the
three Vedas and desirous of pleasures,
they are subject to death and rebirth.

22. But those who meditate on me
and worship me and no other, and wha
are ever devoted to me — to them I ensure
the power to gain the new and preserve
the old.

CHAPTER IX

155

23. Even those who worship the
other gods and are endowed with faith,
worship me alone, O Arjuna, though in a*
wrong way.

24. For I am the enjoyer and the
lord of all sacrifices. But these men do
not know my real nature, and hence they
fall.

25. Those who worship the gods go
to the gods, those who worship the manes
go to the manes, those who worship the
spirits go^ to the spirits, and those who
worship me come to me.

26. Whosoever devoutly offers to
me a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water —
of that man who is pure of heart I accept
the pious offering.

27. Whatsoever thou doest, whatso-
ever thou eatest, whatsoever thou offerest,
whatsoever thou givest away and whatso-
ever of austerities thou dost practise — do
that as an offering to me.

28. Thus shalt thou be free from
the bonds of works which bear good or
evil fruits. With thy mind firmly set on
the way of renunciation thou shalt
become free and come to me.

29. I am the same in all beings,
there is none hateful to me nor dear.

156

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

But those who worship me with devotion
they are in me, and I too am in them.

30. Even if the most sinful man
worships me, and worships no other, he
must be regarded as righteous for he has
decided aright.

31. He soon becomes righteous and
obtains lasting peace. Proclaim it boldly,
O Arjuna, that my devotee never perishes.

32. For those who take refuge in me,
O Arjuna, though they are of the womb
of sin — women, Vaisyas and Su’Jras*— even
they attain to the highest state.

33. How much more then if they are
holy Brahmanas and pious royal saints?
Having come into this fleeting and un-
happy world do thou worship me.

34. Fix thy mind on me, be devoted
to me, worship me and bow down before
me. Having thus disciplined thyself and
regarding me as thy supreme object, thou
shalt come to me.

In the Upanishad of the Bhagavad

Gita this is the ninth chapter

entitled :

THE YOGA OF SOVEBEIGN SCIENCE AND
SOVEBEIGN MYSTERY

CHAPTER X

The Bhagavan said:

1. Once again, O mighty Arjnna,
listen to my supreme word. From a desire
to do thee good I will speak it to thy in-
creasing dehght.

2. Neither the hosts of gods nor the
great sages know my origin, for I am the
source of all the gods and all the sages.

3. He who knows that I am unborn
and wthoftt a beginning and also that I
am the mighty Lord of the world — ^he
among mortals is undeluded, and is freed
from all sins.

4 & 5. Intelligence, knowledge,

sanity, patience, truth, self-control, and
calmness; pleasure and pain, being and
non-being, fear and fearlessness ; non-
violence, equanimity, contentment, austeri-
ty, alms-giving, fame and obloquy — these
different attributes of beings arise but
from me.

6. The seven great sages of old and
the four Manus partook of my nature, and
were born of my mind, and from them
have sprung all these creatures in the
world.

158

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

7. He who knows in truth this
grandeur and power of mine shall come to
possess unfailing devotion. Of this there
is no doubt.

8. I am the origin of all; from me
proceed all things. The wise know this
and worship me with all their heart.

9. Their minds are fixed on me,
their lives rest in me, and of me they ever
converse enlightening one another. Thus
are they delighted and satisfied.

10. On those that are ever devoted
to me and worship me in love I bestow the
understanding by which they come to me.

11. Out of compassion for them do
I dwell in their hearts and dispel the dark-
ness born of ignorance by the shining
lamp of wisdom.

Arjuna said :

12 & 13. Thou art the supreme God,
the supreme abode and the supreme holi-
ness. All the sages proclaim Thee as the
eternal and divine Person, as the first of
the gods, as the unborn and omnipresent.
So said the divine sage Narada, and also
Asita, Devala and Vyasa, and Thou Thy-
self sayest this to me.

CHAPTEB X

159

14. I believe as true all this which
Thou sayest to me, O Krishna, for neither
the gods nor the demons, O Lord, know
Thy manifestation.

15. Thou alone knowest Thyself
through Thyself, O Supreme Person,
Creator of all things. Lord of creatures,
God of gods. Ruler of the world.

16. Thou shouldst tell me of all Thy
divine forms — whereby permeating these
worlds. Thou dost abide in them.

17. How may I know Thee, O
Yogin* by constant meditation? In what
various aspects, O Lord, art Thou to be
contemplated by me?

18. Speak to me again in full, O
Lord, of Thy power and Thy grandeur;
for I am not satiated with hearing Thy
delicious speech.

The Bhagavan said-.

19. Behold, I will tell thee of my
divine forms — of only those that are
prominent, O Ar juna ; for there is no
limit to my extent.

20. I am the soul, O Arjuna, seated
in the hearts of all creatures. I am the
beginning, the middle and the end of all
beings.

160

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

21. Of the Adityas I am Vishnu, of
lights I am the radiant sun. I am Marichi
of the Maruts, and among the stars I am
the moon.

22. Of the Vedas I am the Saman,
and of the gods I am Indra. Of the senses
I am the mind, and in living beings I am
the intellect.

23. Of the Rudras I am Sankara, of
the Yakshas and Eakshasas I am Kubera.
Of the Vasus I am Agni, and of mountains
I am Meru.

24. Of the household priests, O Arjuna,
know me to be the chief — Brihaspati. Of
generals I am Skanda, and of lakes I am
the ocean.

25. Of the great Bishis I am Bhrigu,
and of words I am the monosyllable ‘OM’.
Of otferings I am the offering of silent
prayer, and of immovable things I am the
Himalaya.

26. Of all trees I am Asvattha, and
of divine seers I am Narada. Of the
Gandharvas I am Chitraratha, of the per-
fected ones I am Kapila the sage.

27. Of horses know me to be
Uehchaisravas born of ambrosia; of lordly
elephants I am Airavata, and of men I am
the monarch.

OHAPTE® X

161

28 . Of weapons I am the thunderbolt,
of cows I am Kamadhuk. Of progenitors
I am Kandarpa, and of serpents I am
Vasuki.

29. Of the Nagas I am Ananta, of
the dwellers in water I am Varuna. Of the
Pitris I am Aryaman, and of controllers
I am Yama.

30. Of the , Daityas I am Prahlada,
and of tliose that measure I am Time. Of
beasts I am the lion, and of birds I
am t:i#iru(l?i.

31. ttf purifiers I am the wind, and
of warriors I am Rama. Of fishes I am
the shai'k, and of rivers lam the Ganges.

32. Of created things I am the
beginning and the end, and also the mid-
<lle, O Arjuna. Of sciences I am the
science of the Soul ; and of reasoners I am
the reasoning.

33. Of letters I am the letter A, and
of compound words I am the Dvand^a. I
am myself the never-ending Time, and I
am the Dispenser facing all sides.

34. I am Death that destroys all, and
I am the origin of things that are yet to be.
And of femaR powers T am fame, fortune,

ai

162

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

speech, memory, intelligence, constancy
and patience.

35. Of the Saman hyms I am the
Brihatsaman, and of metres I am the
Gayatri. Of months I am Margasirsha,
and of seasons I am the flowery spring.

36. I am the gambling of the fraudu-
lent, and I am the glory of the glorious. I
am victory; I am effort; I am the good-
ness of the good.

37. Of the Yadavas I am Vasudeva,
and of the Pandavas I am Arjuifa. Of
sages I am Vyasa, and of seers I am
Usanas the seer.

38. Of those that chastise I am the
rod of chastisement, and of those that
would conquer I am the policy. Of secret
things I am also the silence, and of the
wise I am the wisdom.

39. And that which is the germ of
all living beings — that am I, O Arjuna.
Nor is there anything, whether moving or
unmoving, that can exist without me.

40. There is no end to my divine
manifestations, O Arjuna. This is only a
brief exposition by me of the extent of my
grandeur.

CHAPTER XI

163

41. Whatever being there is, endowed
with grandeur, beauty or strength, know
that it has sprung only from a spark of
my splendour.

42. But what avails thee this detailed
knowledge, O Arjuna? I stand pervading
the whole universe with a single fragment
of myself.

In the Upanishad of the Bhagavad

Grita . this is the tenth chapter

entitled :

TH® YOGA OF MANIFESTATION

CHAPTER XI

Arjuna said :

1. The supremely profound discourse
concerning the soul which Thou hast
delivered of Thy grace to me — ^by this has
my delusion been dispelled.

2. For I have learnt from Thee at
length, O Thou of lotus eyes, the origin
and the dissolution of beings, and also
Thy imperishable greatness.

3. What Thou hast declared Thyself
to be, O supreme Lord — it is even so. But

164

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

I desire to see Thy divine form, O
Supreme Person.

4. If, Lord, Thou thinkest that I am
able to behold it, then do Thou, O Lord
of Yogins, reveal to me Thy immutable
form.

The BhagazKin said:

5. Behold my forms, O Arjuna, by
hundreds and thousands — manifold and
divine and of varied hues and shapes.

6. Behold the Adityas, the Vasus,
the Rudras, the two Asvins and afeo the
Maruts. Behold, O Arjuna, many marvels
never seen before.

7. Behold here today, O Arjuna, the
whole universe with the moving and the
unmoving, and whatever else thou desirest
to see, all concentrated in my person.

8. But thou canst not behold me
with this, thine own eye. I will give thee
a divine eye, behold now my sovereign
power.

Sanfhjaya saidi

9. Having spoken thus, O king,
Krishna, the great Lord of Yoga, revealed
to Arjuna His supreme and divine form:

10. Having many faces and eyes,
presenting many a wondrous spectacle,

CHAPTER XI

165

decked with many divine ornaments and
bearing many a heavenly weapon;

11. Wearing celestial garlands and
vestments, anointed with divine perfumes^
full of many a marvel, resplendent, bound-
less, universal.

12. If the light of a thousand suns
were to burst forth all at once in the sky,
it would be like the splendour of that
mighty One.

13. ^ Thwe, in the person of the God
of gods, Arjuna beheld the whole universe
with its manifold divisions, all gathered
together in one.

14. Then struck with amazement,
his hair standing on end, Arjuna bowed
his head to the Lord, joined his hands in
salutation and addressed Him thus:

Arjuna said :

15. In Thy body, O God, I see all
the gods and all the varied hosts of beings
as well — Brahma the Lord on his lotus
throne, and all the Rishis and the heaven-
ly Nagas.

16. I behold Thee infinite in form
on all sides, with myriad arms and trunks,
with myriad faces and eyes. I see no end.

166

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

nor middle, nor source to "Thee, O Lord of
the universe, O Universal Form.

17. I behold Thee glowing as a mass
of light everywhere with Thy diadem,
mace and disc, dazzling the sight on every
side, blazing like the burning fire or the
sun, and passing all bounds.

18. Thou art the Imperishable, the
Supreme to be realised ; thou art the Abode
of the universe; Thou art the undying
Guardian of the eternal law; I believe
that Thou art the Primal BeiAg.

19. I behold Thee as one with no
beginning, middle nor end; with infinite
arms, and infinite strength; with the sun
and the moon as Thine eyes ; with Thy
face shining as a flaming fire, and with
Thy radiance consuming all this universe.

20. For by Thee alone are filled
these interspaces of heaven and earth, and
all the quarters of the sky. O mighty One,
looking at this marvellous and terrible
form of Thine, the three worlds are
trembling.

21. These hosts of gods enter into
Thee, and some in fear extol Thee with
folded hands. And bands of great Bishis
and Siddhas cry ^^HaiP^ and chant Thy
praises in hymns of abounding praise.

CHAPTER XI

167

22. And the Rudras, Adityas, Vasus
and Sadhyas; the Visvas, Asvins, Maruts
and the Manes ; and the hosts of Gandhar*
vas, Yakshas, Asuras and Siddhas — all
behold Thee and are amazed.

23. Looking at Thy great form, O
mighty Lord, with myriad mouths and
eyes, with myriad arms, thighs and feet,
with myriad trunks, and terrible with
myriad fangs — the Avorlds tremble, and
so do I.

24. ^ When I see Thee reaching to
the skies and brillant with varied hues,
when I see Thee with Thy mouth opened
wide and with Thy large eyes glowing
bright, my inmost soul trembles in fear,
and I find no courage nor peace, O
Vishnu.

25. When I behold Thy mouths
striking terror by their fangs, like Time’s
consuming fires, I am all in a whirl and
find no peace. Be gracious, O Lord of
the gods. Abode of the universe.

26 & 27. All these sons of Dhrita-
rashtra together with the hosts of kings,
and also Bhishma, Drona and Kama
here, and the leading warriors on our
side as well are rushing into Thy fearful
mouths set with terrible fangs. Some

168

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

are caught between the teeth and their
heads are seen crushed to powder.

28. As many torrents of rivers rush
towards the sea, so do these heroes of the
mortal world rush into Thy flaming
mouths.

29. As moths rush swiftly into a
blazing Are to iierish there, so do these
men rush into Thy mouths with tremen-
dous speed to their own destruction.

30. Devouring all the worlds on every
side Thou lappest them up vith^ Thy
flaming mouths. Thy fiery rays fill the
whole universe with their radiance and
scorch it, O Vishnu.

31. Tell me who Thou art with form
so terrible. I bow to thee, have mercy,
O God supreme. I long to know Thee
well who art the Primal One, for I do not
understand Thy purpose.

The Bhagavan saidi

32. I am the mighty world-destroying
Time, which has begun to slay these men
here. Even without thee all the warriors
standing arrayed in hostile ranks shall
die.

33. Therefore arise and win renown;
subdue thy foes and enjoy a prosperous

CHAPTER XI

16 »

kingdom. By me they have been slain
alread 3 ^. Be thon merely an instrument,
O Arjuna.

34. Do thou fearlessly kill Drona
and Bhishma, Jayadratha and Kama,
and other great warriors as well who
have been doomed by me. Fight, and
thou shalt conquer thy foes in the
battle.

Sanjaya said :

35. Having heard these words of
Krishifa, ^\.rjuna trembled, folded his
hands and prostrated himself. Over-
whelmed with fear, he then addressed
Krishna again with a faltering voice.

A r juna said :

36. Rightly, O Krishna, is the world
moved to joy and love by glorifying Thee.
The Bakshasas flee on all sides thi’ough
fear, and hosts of Siddhas all bow down to
Thee.

37. And wh\^ should they not bow
down to Thee, O mighty One, who art
greater than all, being the Primal Cause,
even of Brahma? O infinite Being, Lord
of gods, Abode of the world, Thou art the
Imperishable, the Being and the Non-
being, and what lies beyond.

170

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

38. ThoH art the first of gods, the
Primal Person ; Thou art the supreme

‘Treasure of this world; Thou art the
Knower and That which is to be known,
and the supreme Abode. And by Thee is
this universe pervaded, O Thou of infinite
form.

39. Thou are Vayu, Yama, Agni,
Varuna and Sasanka. Thou art Prajapati,
and also the progenitor of Brahma. Hail,
hail to Thee a thousand times ! Hail, hail
to Thee again, and yet again ! •

40. Hail to Thee before, and hail to
Thee behind, and hail to Thee on every
side, O All. Infinite in jiower and im-
measurable in might Thou dost pervade
all, and therefore Thou art All.

41. If, thinking that Thou art my

friend and unaware of this Thy greatness,
I addressed Thee in ignorance or love as
*‘0 Krishna,” Yadava” or

Friend ’ ’ —

42. If in my mirth I showed no
reverence to Thee while playing or rest-
ing, while sitting or eating, while alone, O
eternal Lord, or in the presence of others,
I implore Thee, who art infinite, to pardon
me.

CHAPTER XI

171

43. Thou art the Father of the

world — of all that move and all that do

•

not move. Thou art the object of its
worship and its greatest Teacher. There
is no one equal to Thee. How then could
there be in the three worlds one greater
than Thee, O Thou 'of incomparable
power?

' 44. Therefore I bow down and pro-
strate myself before Thee, adorable Lord,
and seek Thy grace. Bear with me as a
father with a son, as a friend with a
friend, and as a lover with his beloved.

45. I rejoice that I have seen what
was never seen before, but my mind is
also distracted with fear. Show me that
other form of Thine, and be gracious, O
Lord of gods, Abode of the world.

46. I wish to see Thee as before
with Thy crown and Thy mace, and with
Thy disc in hand. Assume again Thy
four-armed shape, O Thou of a thousand
arms and of endless shapes.

The Bhagavan said:

47. By my grace, through my
divine power, O Arjuna, thou hast been
shown this supreme form, resplendent,
universal, infinite and primal, which none
but thee has seen before.

172

THE BHAGAVAB GITA

48. Neither by the study of the
Vedas and sacrifices, nor by gifts, nor by
Vituals, nor by severe penances can this
form of mine be seen in the world of men
by any one else but thee, O Arjuna.

49. Be not afraid, be not bewildered
because thou hast beheld this awful form
of mine. Free from fear and glad at heart
behold again that other form of mine.

Sanjaya said:

50. Having thus addressed Arjuna^
Krishna showed him again His own form.
The mighty One assumed a graceful
shape again, and soothed the affrighted
Arjuna.

Arjuna, said:

51. Having seen this Thy graceful
human form, O Krishna, I have now be-
come composed in mind, I am restored to
my own nature.

The BhagavoAi said:

52. It is very hard indeed to see this
form of mine which thou hast seen. Even
the gods are ever eager to see this form.

53. Neither by fhe Vedas, nor by
austerity, nor by alms giving, nor yet by
sacrifice can I be seen in the form in which
thou hast seen me now.

CHAPTER XII

173

54. Blit l)y • devotion to me alone
may I thus be known, truly seen, and
entered into, O Arjnna.

55. He who does my work and looks
upon me as his goal, he who worships me
without attachment, and who is without
hatred towards any creature — he comes to
me, O Arjiina.

In th<‘ TTpani^^had of the Bhagavad

Gita this is the eleventh chapter

entitled:

MCE ^^SION or THE COSMIC FORM.

CHAPTER XII

Arjuna said:

1. Those devotees who, ever stead-
fast, thus worship Thee and those again
who worship the Imperishable and the
Unmanifested — which of these are better
versed in Yoga?

The Bhagav<m said:

2. Those who have fixed their minds
on me, and who, ever steadfast and

174

TPIE BBEAQAVAD GITA

possessed of supreme faith, worship me
— them do I consider perfect in Yoga.

3. But those who worship the Im-
perishable, the Ineffable, the Unmani-
fested, the Omnipresent, the Incompre-
hensible, the Immutable, the Unchanging
and the Eternal —

4. Having subdued all their senses,
and being of even mind under all condi-
tions and engaged in the good of all
beings — they come to me indeed.

5. The difficulty of those wiiose'^minds
are set on the Unmanifested is greater, for
the goal of the Unmanifested is hard for
the embodied to reach.

6. But those who consecrate all their
actions to me and regard me as their
dearest one, who meditate on me and
worship me with single-hearted devo-
tion —

7. I save them full soon, O Arjuna,
from death and the ocean of mortal life,
their minds being ever set on me.

8. Fix thy mind on me alone, let
thy thoughts rest in me. And in me alone
wilt thou live hereafter. Of this there is
no doubt.

CHAPTER XII

175

9. If thou art not able to fix thy
mind on me, O Arjuna, then seek to reach
me by the practice of concentration.

10. If thou art not able even to prac-
tise concentration of mind, then devote
thyself to my service. For even by doing
service to me thou canst reach perfection.

11. If thou art not able to do even
this, then give up the fruit of all action,
seeking refuge in devotion to me with thy
mind subdued.

12. ♦Foi* knowledge is better than
the practice of concentration, and medi-
tation is better than knowledge, and
renunciation of the fruit of action is even
better than meditation, for close on renun-
ciation follows peace.

J 3. He who never hates any being
and is kindly and compassionate, who is
free from the feeling of and ^Mine^
and who looks upon pleasure and pain
alike, and has forbearance;

14. He who is ever content and is
steady in contemplation, who is self-
restrained and is of firm conviction, and
who has consecrated his mind and under-
standing to me — dear to me is the man
who is thus devoted.

176

TPIE BHAGAVAD GITA

15. He by wbom the world is not
harassed and who is not harassed by the
world, he who is free from joy and anger,
fear and anxiety — ^he is dear to me.

16. He who has no wants, who is
pure and prompt, unconcerned and un-
troubled, and who is selfless in all his
enterprises — dear to me is the man who
is thus devoted to me.

17. He who neither joys nor hates,
neither grieves nor wants, and who has
renounced both good and evil — deaf to me
is the man who is thus devoted.

18. He who is alike to foe and friend
and through good and ill repute, who is
alike in cold and heat, and in pleasure and
pain, and who is free from attachments —

19. He who is alike in praise and
dispraise, who is silent and satisfied with
whatever he has, who has no home and is
firm of mind — dear to me is the man thus
devoted.

20. And they who have faith and
follow this righteous way of everlasting
life thus set forth, and regard me as
supreme — exceedingly dear to me are they
who are thus devoted.

CHAJPTEB Xin

177

In the XJpanishad of the Bhagavad

Gita. . this is the twelfth chapter

entitled :

THE YOGA OF DEVOTION.

CHAPTER XIII

The Bhagavwti said:

1. This* body, O Arjuna, is called
the Kshetra (lit. field), and the soul that
is cognizant of it is called the Kshetra-
;jna (lit. knower of the field) by those who
have knowledge thereof.

2. And know that I am the Kshetra-
jiia in all the Kshetras, O Arjuna ; and
only the knowledge of Kshetra and
Kshetrajna do I regard as true know-
ledge.

3. Hear briefly from me what the
Kshetra is, and of what nature ; what its
modifications are, and whence it is, and
how it is, and also who the Kshetrajna is
and what his powers are.

4. This has been sung by sages in
many and different ways, in various

12

178

THE BIIAGAVAD GITA

liymiis, and also in well-reasoned and
conclusive aphorisms about the Absolute,

5. & 6. The main elements, self-
consciousness, understanding" and the
unmanifested; the ten senses, the mind
and the five objects of sense ; desire,
hatred, pleasure and pain ; organism,
intelligence and the will to hold together
— briefly described, this is the Kshetra
along with its modifications.

7. Modesty, sincerity, non-violence,
forbearance and uprightness ; . service of
the teacher, purity, steadfastness and
self-control;

8. Indifference towards the objects
of sense; self-effacement, and the percep-
tion of the evil of birth, death, old age,
sickness and pain;

9. Detachment and freedom from
identification with children, wife and
home ; and constani evenness of mind in
the midst of agreeable and disagreeable
events ;

10. Unswerving devotion to me
through constant meditation, resort
to solitude, and aversion to society;

11. Steadfastness in the knowledge
of the Spirit, and an insight into the

CHAPTER XUI

179

object of the knowledge of Truth — this is
declared to be true knowledge, and all
that is contrary to it is no knowledge.

12. I will now describe that which
ought to be known, and by knowing
which immortality is gained. It is GOD
the Supreme who is without beginning,
and who is said to be neither being nor
non-being.

13. His hands and feet are every-
where; His eyes, heads and mouths are
facingi in* all directions. His ears are
turned to all sides ; and He exists envelop-
ing all.

14. He seems to possess the faculties
of all the senses, and yet He is devoid of
the senses. He is unattached, and yet He
sustains all things. He is free from the
dispositions of Nature, and yet He enjoys
them.

15. He is without and within all
beings. He has no movement, and yet
He moves. He is too subtle to be known.
He is far away, and yet He is near.

16. He is undivided and yet He is, as
it were, divided among beings. He is to
be known as the Sustainer of all creation*
He devours, and He generates.

180

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

17. The Light of alJ lights. He is
said to be above darkness. As know-
ledge, the object of knowledge and the aim
of knowledge, He is set firm in the hearts
of all.

18. Thus have been briefly set forth
knowledge and the object of knowledge as
well as the Kshetra. My devotee who
understands this becomes worthy of my
state.

19. Know that Nature and Spirit are
both without beginning; and knov also
that all forms and dispositions spring
from Nature.

20. Nature is said to be the cause of
the formation of the body and its organs;
and Spirit is said to be the cause of the
experience of pleasure and pain.

21. For Spirit seated in Nature ex-
periences the dispositions of Nature, and
it is the attachment to these dispositions
that is the cause of its birth in good and
evil wombs.

22. The supreme Spirit in the body

is said to be the one who witnesses and
approves, who supports and enjoys, and
who is the sovereign Lord and the high-
est Self, i

CHAPTER XIII

181

23. Whoever knows the Spirit thus,
as also Nature along with its dispositions,
is never born again, in whatever way he
may live.

24. By meditation some perceive the
Spirit in themselves through the mind,
others by devotion to knowledge, and
others by devotion to works.

25. But some who do not know it in
this way hear of it from others and wor-
ship; and they too pass beyond death by
their tievcftion to what they have heard.

26. Wliatever is born — that which
moves as well as that which does not
move — know, O Arjuna, that it is through
the union of the body and the soul.

27. He who sees the Supreme Lord
abiding alike in all beings, and never
perishing when they perish — verily, he
alone sees.

28. For, as he sees the Lord present
alike everywhere, he does not injure his
true Self by the self, and thus he reaches
the supreme state.

29. He who sees that all actions are
done only by Nature and that the Self is
not the doer — ^verily he alone sees.

182

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

30. When he sees that the manifold
nature of beings is centred in the One,
and that all evolution is only from
there — he becomes one with the Absolute.

31. Having no beginning and
possessing no qualities, the supreme and
imperishable Spirit, O Ai'juna, neither
does any work, nor does it receive any
stain, even while it remains in the body.

32. Just as ether that pervades all
things is too subtle to be stained, even so
the soul that is present everywhere suffers
no stain in the body.

33. As the one sun illumines the
whole world, so does the soul, O Arjuna,
illumine all the bodies.

34. Those who perceive by their
spiritual insight this distinction between
the body and the soul, and the deliverance
from Nature, the cause of all beings — they
reach the Supreme.

In the Upanishad of the Bhagavad

Gita this is the thirteenth

chapter entitled :

THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE BODY
AND THE SOTJL.

CHAPTER XIV

The Bhagavan said:

1. Once again I 'vvill expound that!
knowledge, the most exalted of all kinds
of knowledge, by gaining whieli all sages
have passed from this world to the highest
perfection.

2. Having devoted themselves to this
knowledge a?id having partaken of my
nature, thev are not born again at the
time T)f creation, nor are they disturbed at
the time off dissolution.

3. Great Nature is my womb; in that
I place the germ; and from there is the
birth of all beings, O Arjuna.

4. From Avhatever wombs living
forms may arise, O Arjuna, great Nature
is their womb, and I am the generating
Father.

5 “Goodness’’ “passion” and
“dullness” — these dispositions which arise
from Nature bind down the immortal soul
in the body, O Arjuna.

6. Of these goodness being unsul-
lied is luminous and healthful. It binds,
O faultless Arjuna, with the bond of happi-
ness and the bond of knowledge.

184

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

7. Know thou that desire is the soul
of passion which is the source of thirst
hnd attachment. This binds the soul, O
Arjuna, \vith the bonds of action.

8. Know further that dullness is
born of ignorance and that it deludes all
creatures. It binds, O Arjuna, with
negligence, indolence and sleep.

9. Goodness binds one to happiness ;
passion binds one to action, O Arjuna;
and dullness veiling knoivledge binds one
to negligence.

10. Goodness prevails when it has
overpowered passion and dullness, O
Arjuna. Passion prevails when it has
overpoAvered dullness and goodness ; and
dullness prevails Avhen it has overpowered
goodness and passion.

11. When the light of knowledge
streams forth from all the gateways of the
body, then may it be known that goodness
has prevailed.

12. Avarice, activity, enterprise, un-
rest and desire — these arise, O Arjuna,
when passion prevails.

13. Obscurity, stagnation, negli-
gence and delusion — these arise, O Arjuna,.
when dullness prevails.

CHAPTER XIV

185

14. If the eipibodied soul meets with
death when goodness prevails, it goes to
the pure worlds of those who know the •
Highest.

15. If it meets with death when
passion prevails, it is born among those
who are attached to works ; and if it dies
when dullness prevails, it is born in the
womb of creatures devoid of reason.

16. The fruit of a good action is said
to be good and clean; while the fruit of
passioii is \iain ; and the fruit of dullness
is ignorance.

17. From goodness springs know-

ledge, and from passion greed. From
dullness spring negligence, delusion and
ignorance.

18. Those who are established in

goodness rise upwards, those who are
moved by passion remain in the middle,,
and those who are steeped in dullness,
being swayed by the tendencies of the
lower disposition, go downwards.

19. When a man of insight sees no

agent other than these dispositions of

Nature, and knows also Him who is be-
yond these dispositions, he attains to my
being.

186

THE BHAGAVAD QITA

20. When the embQdied soul has
risen above these three dispositions of

* which its body is made up, it gains deli-
verance from birth, death, old age and
pain, and becomes immortal.

Arjima said:

21. What are the marks of the man,
O Lord, who has risen above the three dis-
positions? What is his manner of life?
And how does he rise above the disposi-
tions?

The Bhagavan said:

22. He who has no aversion to light
or activity or even delusion, O Arjuna^
when they are present, nor longs for them
when they are absent —

23. He who sits like one uncon-
cerned, unmoved by the dispositions, who
remains firm and never wavers, knowing
it is the dispositions that act —

24. He who dwells in the spirit and
is the same in pleasure and pain, who
looks upon a clod, a stone and a piece of
gold as of equal worth, who remains the
same amidst pleasant and unpleasant
things, and who, being firm, regards alike
both praise and blame —

CHAPTER XV

187

25. He who .is the same in honour
and dishonour, and the same to friend and
foe, and who has renounced all enterprise'
— such a man is said to have risen above
the dispositions of Nature.

26. And also he who worships me
with the Yoga of exclusive devotion — ^he
rises above the dispositions of Nature, and
is fit for becoming one with the Absolute.

27. For I am the abode of the Abso-
lute, the Immortal and the Immutable, of
Eternal Li^w and of absoute bliss.

In the XJpanishad of the Bhagavad

Oita this is the fourteenth

chapter entitled :

THE DIFFERENTIATION OF THE THREE
DISPOSITIONS

CHAPTER XY

The Bhagavan sadd:

1. The world-tree with its roots above
and its branches below is said to be
imperishable. Its leaves are the Vedas,
and he who knows it knows the Vedas.

188

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

2. Its branches extend above and
below, and are nourished by the disposi-
tions of Nature. Its twigs are the objects
of sense ; and its clustering roots spread
downwards giving rise to actions in the
world of men.

3 & 4. Its form as such is not com-
prehended here, nor its end, nor its origin^
nor its existence. Having cut down this
firm-rooted tree with the strong sword of
detachment, and saying, ^‘I seek refuge in
that Primal Person from whom haf come
forth this eternal process one should
seek that place from which they who have
reached it never return.

5. Those who are free from pride
and delusion, and who have conquered the
evil of attachment, and who, having
abandoned desire, are devoted to the
Supreme Spirit and are freed from the
pairs of opposites known as pleasure and
pain go undeluded to that imnyitable
place.

6. The sun does not illumine it, nor
the moon, nor fire. It is my supreme
abode, and they who reach it never return.

7. An eternal portion of myself,
having become a living soul in the world

CHAPTER SV

189

of life, draws to. itself the mind and the
five senses that rest in Nature.

8. When the Lord acquires a body,
and when He leaves it, He takes these
with Him and goes on His way, as the
wind carries away odours from their place.

9. He enjoys the objects of the
senses directing the ear, the eye, the
touch, the taste and the smell and also the
mind.

10. Whe^ He departs or stays, when
He enjoys or is in contact with the dispo-
sitions of Nature, the deluded do not per-
ceive Him, but they who have the eye of
wisdom perceive Him.

11. Devout sages ever .'striving find
Him within themselves; but thoughtless
men whose souls are undisciplined do not
find Him, though they strive.

12. The splendour which is in the
sun and which illumines the whole
universe, that which is in the moon and
which is likewise in the fire — ^know that it
is mine.

13. And entering the earth I sustain
all things by my vital force, and becoming
the sapful moon I nourish all herbs.

190

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

14. Becoming the fire of life I enter
into the bodies of all creatures, and ming-
ling with the upward and downward
breath, I digest the four kinds of food.

15. And I am seated in the hearts of
all; from me are memory and knowledge,
and their loss as well. I am indeed He
who is to be known by all the Vedas, I
am He who made the Vedanta, and I am
He who knows the Vedas.

16. There are two beings in this
world — the Perishable and the Imperish-
able. The Perishable is all creatures, and
the Imperishable is said to be the un-
changing.

17. But there is another Being, the
highest, called the Supreme Spirit, who as
the eternal Lord pervades and sustains
the three worlds.

18. As I surpass the Perishable and
as I am higher than even the Imperish-
able, I am celebrated in the world and in
the Veda as the Supreme Being.

19. He who undeluded knows me
thus as the Supreme Being — ^he knows all,
O Arjuna, and he worships me ■ydth all his
heart.

CHAPTER XVI

191

20. Thus has_ this most secret doc-
trine been taught by me, O faultless
Arjuna. By knowing this a man will*
become wise and will have fulfilled his
duty.

In the Upanishad of the Bhagavad

Gita this is the fifteenth

chapter entitled :

THE SUPREME SPIRIT

CHAPTER XVI

The Bliagavan said-.

1. Fearlessness, purity of heart,
steadfastness in knowledge and devotion;
almsgiving, self-control and sacrifice,
study of the scriptures, austerity and
uprightness ;

2. Non-violence, truth, freedom from
anger; renunciation, tranquillity, aversion
to slander; compassion to living beings,
freedom ; from covetousness ; gentleness,
modesty and steadiness ;

3 . Courage, patience, fortitude,
purity and freedom from malice and over-

192

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

weeing conceit — these belong to him
who is born to the heritage of the gods,
O Arjuna.

4. Hypocrisy, arrogance, and self-
conceit; wrath, rudeness and ignorance —
these belong, O Arjuna, to him who is
born to the heritage of the demons.

5. The heritage of the gods is said
to make for deliverance, and that of the
demons for bondage. Grieve not, O
Arjuna, thou art born to the heritage of
the gods.

6. There are two types of beings
created in this world — the divine and the
•diabolic. The divine have been described
at length. Hear now from me, O Arjuna,
of the diabolic.

7. Men of diabolical nature know
neither right action nor right abstention.
Nor is purity found in them, nor good
conduct, nor truth.

8. They say, “The world is false,
without a moral basis, and without a
God. What is there that does not spring
from mutual union? Lust is the cause of
all.”

9. Holding this view, these lost souls
•of sinall uhderstanjding who commit

CfHAPtER XVI

193

cruel deeds coxae forth as enemies for
the destruction of the world.

10. Giving themselves up to insati-*
able desires, full of hypocrisy, pride and
arrogance, they hold false views through
delusion and act with impure resolves.

11. Obsessed by innumerable cares
which would end only with their death,
and looking upon the gratification of
desires as their highest aim, and convin-
ced that this is all ;

12. • Bound by a hundred ties of desire,
given up wholly to lust and anger, they
strive to gain heaps of wealth by unjust
means for the gratification of their
passions,

13. *^This I have gained today: and
that longing wdll I fulfil. This wealth is
mine, and that also shall be mine here-
after.

14. **This foe I have slain, and others
loo I will slay. I am the lord of all, and
I enjoy myself. I am prosperous,
mighty and happy.

15. am rich and of high birth.
Who is there like unto me? I will perform
sacrifices, I will give alms, I will rejoice. ’ ^
Thus are they deluded by ignorance.

23

194

THE BHAGAVAD QSTk

16 . Bewildered by numerous thoughts^
enveloped in the meshes of delusion and
addicted to the gratification of their
desires, they fall into loathsome hell.

17. Self -conceited, stubborn, filled
with the haughtiness and intoxication of
wealth, they ostentatiously perform sacri-
fices which are so only in name with utter
disregard of rules.

18. Possessed of self-conceit, power
and pride, and also of lust and wrath,
these traducers hate me in the. bodies of
others and in their own.

19. These cruel haters, the vilest of
men, these sinners I always hurl down
into the w^ombs of the demons in the cycle
of births and deaths.

20. Having fallen into the wombs of
the demons and being deluded from birth
to birth, they never attain to me, O
Arjuna, but go further down to the
lowest state.

21. Three are the gateways of this
hell leading to the ruin of the soul — ^Inst,
wrath and greed. Therefore let man
renounce these three.

22. The man who has escaped these
three gates of darkness, O Arjuna, works

CHAPTER XVH

195

out liis own good and reaches the highest
state.

23. But he who discards the scrip-'
tural law and acts as his desires prompt
hiTn — he attains neither perfection, nor
happiness, nor the highest state.

24. Therefore let the scripture be
thy authority in determining what ought
to be done and what ought not to be done.
Knowing the scriptural law thou shouldst
do thy work in this world.

In 4;he •ITpanishad of the Bhagavad

Gita this is the sixteenth

chapter entitled:

The distinction between the heritage
OF THE gods and OF THE DEMONS.

CHAPTER XVII
Arjuna said:

1. Those who leave aside 'the ordi-
nances of scriptures, but offer sacrifice
with faith — ^what is their state, O Krishna?
Is it one of ‘goodness or of ‘passion’ or
‘dullness’?

196

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

Bfiagavcm saidi

2. The faith of men is of three
kinds. It is in accordance with their dis-
position — ^good’ or ^passionate’ or ^dull’.
Hear now abont it.

3. The faith of every man, O Arjnna,
is in accordance with his natural disposi-
tion. Man is of the nature of his faith ;
what his faith is, that verily he is.

4. Men in whom ‘goodness’ prevails
worship the gods ; men in whom ‘ passion ’
prevails worship the demigods ai^d de-
mons ; and the others in whom ‘ dullness ’
prevails worship the spirits and ghosts.

5. Vain and conceited men, impelled
by the force of their desires and pas-
sions, subject themselves to terrible
mortifications not ordained by scriptures.

6. And, being foolish, they torture
their bodily organs and me also who
dwell within the body. Know that such
men are fiendish in their resolves.

7. Even the food which is dear to
each of them is of three kinds. So are
the sacrifices, austerities and gifts. Hear
now of their distinction.

8. Foods that promote length of life,
vitality, strength, health, happiness and

CHAPTER XVir

197

cheerfulness, and those that are sweet,
soft, nourishing and agreeable are the
favourites of the ^good/

9. Foods that are bitter, sour, salted,
over-hot, pungent, dry and burning, and
those that produce pain, grief and disease
are liked by the ^passionate.’

10. And that which is not freshly
cooked, which is tasteless, putrid and
stale, which is of the leavings and is un-
clean, is the food dear to the ‘dull.’

11. • Tli&,t sacrifice which is offered
according to the scriptural law by those
who expect no reward and who firmly
believe it is their duty to sacrifice — that is
of a ‘good’ disposition.

12 . But that sacrifice which is offered
in expectation of reward and for the
sake of ostentation — ^know, O Arjuna,
that it is of a ‘passionate’ disposition.

13. And the sacrifice which is con-
trary to the law and in which no food is
distributed, no hymns are chanted and no
fees are paid and which is devoid of faith
is said to be of a ‘dull’ disposition.

14. The worship of the gods, of the
twice-born, of teachers and of the wise;
purity, uprightness, abstinence and non-

198

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

violence — these are said to be the penance
of the body.

15. The utterance of words which
do not give offence and which are truth-
ful, pleasant and beneficial, and the regu-
lar recitation of the Veda — these are said
to be the penance of speech.

16. Serenity of mind, beneficence,
silence, self-control and purity of heart —
these are said to be the penance of the
mind.

17. This three-fold penance' pr^tised
with perfect faith by men of balanced
minds without desire for gain is said to be
of a ^good^ disposition.

18. The penance which is done in
order to gain respect, honour and reve-
rence and for ostentation is said to be of a
‘^passionate’ disposition. It is unsteady
and uncertain.

19. The penance which is done with
a foolish obstinacy by means of self-
torture or for causing injury to others is
declared to be of a ‘dull’ disposition.

20. That gift which is made to one
that can make no return, and with tht
feeling that it is one’s duty to give, and
which is given in proper place and time

CHAPTER XTH

199

and to a worthy person — it is accounted
^good/

21. But that which is given for the
sake of recompense or with the expecta-
tion of future gain or in a grudging mood
is accounted ‘ passionate \

22. And the gift which is made un-
ceremoniously and contemptuously, at an
improper place and time, and to unworthy
persons is declared to be ^dull. ^

23. ‘‘Om ^ Tat Sat^^ — this is the
three-folc^ symbol of the Absolute. By
means of this were ordained of old the
Brahmanas, the Vedas and the Sacri-
fices.

24. Tlif refor(‘ with the utterance of
the word ‘‘Om’’ are the acts of sacrifice,
gifts and poiance, enjoined b 3 ^ the scrip-
tural rule, alway^s begun by the expoun-
ders of the Veda.

25. And with the utterance of the
word ^^Tat’^ various acts of sacrifice, pe-
nance and gifts are performed regardless
of recompense by those who seek salva-
tion.

26. The Avord is used in the

sense of reality and of goodness; and
likewise, O Arjuna, the term ‘^Sat’’ is
used for any action worthy of praise.

200

THE BHA.GAVAD GITA.

27. Steadfastness in , sacrifice, pe-
nance and gifts is also called “Sat”; and
<so also any action connected with them is
termed ‘ ‘ Sat ’

28. Whatever offering or gift is
made, whatever austerity is practised,
whatever rite is performed — if it is done
without faith, it is called “Asat”, O
Arjuna. It is of no account here or here-
after.

In the Upanishad of the Bhagavad

Gita this is the sf^ven^eenth

chapter entitled:

THE THREE-FOLU DIVISION OF I'AITH

CHAPTER XVIII

'Arjuna said :

1. I desire to know the true nature
of renunciation, and again of resignation,
O mighty-armed Krishna, slayer of Kesin.

The Bhagavan said :

2. The relinquishing of all works
that are prompted by desire is understood
by the sages to be renunciation; while the
surrendering of the fruits of all works is
called resignation by the wdse.

CHAPTER XVm

201

3. Some sages declare that all works^
should be abandoned as evil. Others say
that works of sacrifice, gifts and penance*
should not be given up.

4. Hear now from me, O Arjuna, the
truth about resignation, for resii?nation
is declared to be of three kinds, O best of
men.

5. Works of sacrifice, gifts and
penance should not be given up, but
should be performed. For sacrifice, gifts
and n^naupe purify the wise.

6. Even these works should, how-
ever, be done with surrender of attach-
ment and of fruits. This, O Arjuna, is
my decided and final view.

7. But renunciation of any duty that
ought to be done is not right. The aban-
donment of it through ignorance is declar-
ed to be of the nature of ‘dullness’.

8. He who renounces a duty from
fear of physical suffering, because it is
painful, does so only through his ‘passion-
ate’ disposition, and can never gain the
object of renunciation.

9. But he who performs a prescribed
duty as something that ought to be done^
but renounces all attachment and also the

202

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

fruit — his renunciation, O Arjuna, is re-
garded as one of ^goodness \

10. The wise man of renunciation,
who is imbued with goodness and whose
doubts are dispelled, never hates a duty
that is unpleasant, nor Ifeels any attach-
ment to a duty that is pleasant.

11. It is indeed impossible for any
embodied being to abstain from work
absolutely. But he who gives up the fruit
of work is regarded as one who has
renounced.

12. Pleasant, unpleasant and mixed
— three-fold is the fruit of work, after
their passing away, to those who have not
renounced. But none whatever to those
who have renounced.

13. Learn from me, O mighty Arjuna,
these five causes of the performance of
every act, as mentioned in the philosophy
of knowledge.

14. The seat of action, and likewise
the agent; the various instruments and
the diverse kinds of functions — the
presiding deity being the fifth.

15. Whatever action a man performs
by his body, speech or mind, whether it is
light or wrong — ^these five are its causes.

CHAPTER XVm

203

16. That being so, the man of perverse
mind who on account of his imperfect
understanding looks upon the self as the"
sole agent — he does not see at all.

17. He who is free from the notion
of and whose understanding is un-
sullied — ^though he slays these men, he
slays not, nor is he bound.

IS. I^owledge, the object of know-
ledge and the knowing subject — these
three form the three-fold incitement to
action^ anti the instrument, the purpose
and the agent — these form the three
constituents of action.

19. Knowledge, action and agent —
in the Science of Dispositions each of
these is said to be of three different kinds
according to the different dispositions .
Hear of them also as they are.

20. The knowledge by which one
imperishable essence is seen in all beings,
undivided in the divided — ^know that that
knowledge is of ^goodness’.

21. The knowledge which, by reason
of their separateness, sees in all beings
different entities of various kinds — ^know
that that knowledge is of the nature of
^passion ^

204

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

22. While that which clings to each
single object, as if it were the whole, and
which is irrational, untrue and narrow —
that is declared to be of the nature of
dullness. ^

23. An action which is obligatory
and which is done wdthout love or hate
and without attachment by one who
desires no fruit — ^it is said to be of ^good-
ness’.

24. But that action which is done

with a great strain by one who to

gratify his desires or by one who is
prompted by a feeling of — ^it is pro-

nounced to be one of ‘passion.’

25. While the action which is under-
taken through ignorance, without regard
to consequences, or to loss and injury, and
without regard to one’s capacity — it is
said to be one of ‘dullness’.

26. The doer who is free from

attachment, and who has no feeling of
“I”, who is endowed with steadiness and
zeal, and who is unmoved by success or
failure — he is said to be of a ‘good’ dis-
position.

27. The doer who is swayed by

passion, and who seeks the fruit of his

CHAPTER XVllI

205

ivorks, who is greedy, harmful and im-
pure, and who is moved by joy and
sorrow — he is declared to be of a ^passion-
ate’ disposition.

28. While the doer who is unsteady,
vulgar, obstinate, deceitful, malicious, in-
dolent, despondent and procrastinating —
he is said to be of a ^dulP disposition.

29. Of understanding and steadiness
hear now the threefold distinction, O
Arjuna, according to the dispositions of
Natural. I# will be explained in full, and
each of them separately.

30. The understanding which dis-
tinguishes between right action and right
abstention, between what ought to be done
and what ought not to be done, between
what should cause fear and what should
not cause fear, and between bondage and
liberation — that, O Arjuna, is of the nature
of ^goodness’.

31. The understanding which fails
to distinguish correctly between right and
wrong, between what ought to be done
and what ought not to be done — that, O
Arjuna, is of the nature of * passion.’

32. While that understanding which,
being enveloped in darkness, regards
wrong as right, and which reverses all

206

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

values — that, O Arjuna, is of the nature
of ‘dullness’.

33. The steadiness which never fails
in concentration, and by which one con-
trols the activities of the mind, the life-
breaths, and the senses — that, O Arjuna,
is of the nature of ‘goodness.’

34. The steadiness by which one
holds fast to duty, pleasure and wealth,
desiring the fruit of each through intense
attachment — that, O Arjuna, is of the
nature of ‘passion.’

35. While the steadiness by which
a fool does not leave his torpor, fear,
grief, despondency and sensuality — that,
O Arjuna, is of the nature of ‘dullness.’

36 & 37. And now hear from me, O
Arjima, the three kinds of pleasure. That
in which a man comes to rejoice by long
practice and in which he reaches the end
of his pain, and that which is like poison
at first but hke nectar at the end — such
pleasure is said to be ‘good.’ It springs
from a clear knowledge of the soul.

38. That which springs from the
contact of the senses and their objects,
and which is like nectar at first but like
poison at the end — such pleasure is said
to be ‘passionate.’

CHAPTER XVIir

20T

39. But that which deludes the soul
both in the beginning and even after the
end, and which springs from sleep, sloth
and error — that pleasure is said to be
‘dull.’

40. There is no creature here on
earth, nor again among the gods in
heaven, which is free from these three
dispositions of Nature.

41. The duties of Brahmans, Ksha-
triyas and Vaisyas, and also of Sudras
have b«en divided, O Arjuna, in accor-
dance Avith their natural dispositions.

42. Serenity, self-control, austerity,
pitrity, forbearance and uprightness, as
also knowledge, insight and faith — these
are the duties of a Brahman springing
from his own nature.

43. Heroism, vigour, firmness, re-
sourcefulness, dauntlessness in battle,
generosity and majesty — these are the
duties of a Kshatriya springing from his
own nature.

44. Ploughing, tending cattle, and
trade are the duties of a Vaisya springing
from his nature. And the duty of a Sudra
springing from his nature is essentially
one of service.

208

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

45. Man reaches perfection by devo-
tion to his own duty. Hear now how
perfection is attained by him who is
devoted to his own duty.

4b. He from whom all beings pro-
ceed and by whom all this is pervaded —
by worshipping Him through the perfor-
mance of his ow’n duty does man attain
perfection.

47. Better is one’s own duty, though
imperfectly done, than the duty of
another well done. He whc dc3s the
duty imposed on him by his own nature
incurs no sin.

48. One ought not to give up the
work which is suited to one’s own nature,
O Ar juna, though it has its imperfections ;
for every enterprise is beset -with imper-
fections, as fire with smoke.

49. He whose mind is unattached
everywhere, Avho is self-subdued, and from
whom desire has fled — ^he attains by
renunciation to the supreme state trans-
cending all work.

50. Learn from me in brief, O
Arjuna, how one who has attained to per-
fection reaches God — which is the supreme
consummation of knowledge.

CHAPTER XVIir

209

51. Endowed* with a clear vision,
firmly restraining himself, turning away
from sound and other objects of sense, *
and casting aside likes and dislikes;

52. Dwelling in solitude, eating but
little, restraining his speech, body and
mind, and ever engaged in meditation and
concentration ; and cultivating freedom
from passion ;

53. And casting aside conceit, vio-
lence, ^ri(j^, desire, wrath and possession;
selfless and tranquil in mind — ^he becomes
worthy of becoming one with God.

54. Having become one with God,
and being tranquil in spirit he neither
grieves nor desires. He regards all beings
as alike and will have supreme devotion to
me.

55. By that devotion he knows me,
knows what in truth I am and who I am.
Then, having known me in truth, he forth-
with enters into me.

56. Though he may be constantly
engaged in all kinds of work, yet, having
found refuge in me, he reaches by my
grace the eternal and indestructible
abode.

14

210

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

57. Surrendering in mind all actions
to me, regarding me as the Supreme and
taking refuge in steadfastness of mind, do
thou fix thy thought constantly on me.

58. Fixing thy thought on me, thou
shalt surmount every difficulty by my
grace; but if from self-conceit thou wilt
not listen to me, thou shalt utterly perish.

59. If indulging in self-conceit thou
thinkest, will not fight, vain is thy
resolution. Nature will compel thee.

60. Fettered by thine own tenden-
cies, O Arjuna, which are born of thy
nature, that which through delusion thou
seekest not to do thou shalt do even
against thy will.

61. The Lord dwells in the hearts of
all beings, O Arjuna, causing them to
revolve by his mysterious power, as if
they were mounted on a machine.

62. Fly to HSin alone for shelter
with all thy soul, O Arjuna. By His grace
shalt thou gain supreme peace and the
everlasting abode.

63. Thus has wisdom, more secret
than all secrets, been declared to thee by
me. Consider it fully and act as thou
wilt.

CHAPTER XVIII

211

64. Listen again to my snpreme
word, the most secret of all. Thou art
well beloved of^ me, therefore will I tell
thee wh^t is good for thee.

65. Fix the mind on me, be devoted
to me, sacrifice to me, prostrate thy-
self before me, so shalt thou come to me.
I promise thee truly, for thou art dear to
me.

66. Surrendering all duties come to
me alone for shelter. Do not grieve, for
I will j’eleiise thee from all sins.

67. Never should this be told by
thee to one who is not austere in life or
who has no devotion in him, nor to one
who does not wish to hear, nor to one who
traduces me.

68. He who teaches this supreme
secret to those who worship me shall
doubtless come to me, for he has shown
the highest devotion to me.

69. Nor is there anyone among men
who can do anything more pleasing to me
than he; nor shall anyone on earth be
dearer to me than he.

70. And he who will study this
sacred dialogue of ours — by him shall I
regard myself as having been vrorshipped
through knowledge as a sacrifice.

212

THE BHAGAVAD GITA

71. And even the man who listens
to it with faith and without seofl&ng shall
obtain liberation, and he'"* shall gain the
happy regions of the righteous.

72. Has this been heard by thee,

0 Arjuna, with undivided attention f Has
thy delusion, born of ignorance, been dis-
pelled?

Arjuna said:

73. My delusion is gone. I have
come to myself by Thy grace, O Krishna.

1 stand free from doubt. I will' act Accord-
ing to Thy word.

Sanjaya said:

74. Thus have I heard this wonder-
ful dialogue between Krishna and the high-
souled Arjuna which made my hair stand
on end.

75. By the favour of Vyasa I heard
this supreme secret, this Yoga taught by
Krishna himself, the Lord of Yoga, in
person.

76. As often as I remember, O King,
this wonderful and sacred dialogue bet-
ween Krishna and Arjuna, I rejoice again
and again.

77. And as often as I remember that
most marvellous form of Krishna, great is

CHAPTER XVIH 213

my astonishment, O King, and I rejoice
again and again.

78. Where’er there is Krishna the*
Lord (^P T.o^a, and Arjuna the archer,
there will surely be fortune, victory, pros-
perity and righteousnese. Such is my
belief.

In the Upanishad of the Bhagavad
Gita, the Science of the Absolute, the
scripture of Yoga, and the dialogue bet-
ween Sri Krishna and Arjuna this is the
eightgentb chapter entitled:

THE YOGA OP EENHNCIATION AND KBLEASE-

M. I,. J. PRESS, MYLAPORE.